Konoha High: Christmas Break
by winxgirl21
Summary: The Konoha High gang is looking forward to their upcoming Christmas Break,and when a group trip is proposed,everyone is excited.But once again there's drama occuring with love,friendships,new friends and possible rivals,and much more.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, this is the third story in my Konoha High series! I'd recommend reading the other two stories before reading this one, because references to the previous stories will most likely be made. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura leaned over the wall with a gleam in her eye. She giggled as she said, "Catch me if you can, Sasuke!"

She skated off into the rink, and said boy 'Hned', but took off after Sakura anyways. Within a matter of minutes he was zigzagging through the people, smirking as he went. Sakura was only a few feet ahead of him now. He closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing them to a halt.

"Gotcha." He said once they'd completely stopped.

"I don't get it." Sakura said as she laughed, somewhat out of breath from trying to skate so fast. "Just an hour ago, you could hardly stand up on the ice, and now you're faster than me."

"I'm a fast learner." Sasuke said with a smirk. It was true. When the girl had first suggested they go ice skating, Sasuke had been reluctant, and when Sakura found out he had never been before, she forced him to come, saying she'd teach him. Now the student had out skated the teacher.

"Hey, teme, how bout you guys stop standing there and start skating. You're hogging the ice." Naruto said as he skated by with Hinata, his gloved hand intertwined with her mittened one. Sakura looked behind them and saw that indeed, people were doing their best to dodge the two of them, who were currently at a standstill in the middle of a flow of people. Sasuke just glared at Naruto, and grabbed his girlfriend's hand, pulling them to a start again.

It was early December, and our eight favorite teenagers were at the skating rink for an afternoon of fun. Christmas break was fast approaching, and just about everyone was in the Christmas Spirit. The rink was all decked out in garlands and lights, and even had Christmas trees all over the place, with a huge one in the center of the ice.

When Sasuke and Sakura skated near the exit, Sakura tugged him towards it.

"Tired already?" Sasuke asked.

"More like freezing." Sakura said. Sakura was bundled up in her winter coat, scarf, hat, and mittens, as was just about everyone else in the rink.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he stepped onto the hard, no-slip floor, starting to make his way over to where Ino and Shikamaru were sitting.

"Have you two even been on the ice yet?" Sakura asked her friend as she sank down onto the small couch across from Ino and Shikamaru, Sasuke sitting down next to her.

"For a few minutes, but Mr. Lazy Bum over here says ice skating is too troublesome." Ino said, glaring at her boyfriend.

"Ino, we were out there for half an hour, and you had us going around the rink literally six times a minute. Do you know how fast that is?" Shikamaru asked her in an exasperated voice.

"So?" Ino asked, apparently not seeing Shikamaru's point.

"So it's tiring." Shikamaru said.

"But I don't feel tired at all." Ino said.

"But I do." Shikamaru said, sighing at his girlfriend.

"You're so lazy." Ino said with an 'hmph'.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered under his breath, but Ino apparently heard him.

"What did you just say?" Ino hissed.

Sakura decided that now was the time to step in and stop Ino from killing her boyfriend. "Ino, I'm sure Shikamaru didn't mean anything by it, right Shikamaru?" She shot Shikamaru a 'look' and he understood what Sakura was doing.

"She's right, Ino." Shikamaru said. "It's an old habit. I didn't mean anything, and I'm sorry."

"Ok, then." Ino said a bit skeptically.

"So, Ino." Sakura said.

"Yea?" Ino asked her friend, turning her attentions to her.

"I was thinking." Sakura said. "We should all do something together over break."

Ino's face lit up. "We can go to the new ski lodge!"

"Which one?" Sakura asked.

"The one that my dad owns, you know which one I'm talking about." Ino said with a grin.

"Hmm…That could work for us." Sakura said. "I still think it's funny how your dad decided to jump from owning a large chain of flower stores to opening a ski lodge."

"Oh, mom and I convinced him he should. We told him it would be good money." Ino replied. "We also thought it would be fun to own one, because it also meant it would be good for times like this."

"That's true." Sakura said.

"Definitely!" Ino replied. "So when do we leave?"

"Ino, we haven't even asked Hinata and TenTen yet, and the guys haven't put there opinions in either." Sakura said. Her friend tended to jump the gun.

"Wait, we're invited too?" Shikamaru asked.

"Duh." Ino replied, rolling her eyes.

"Why wouldn't you guys be?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, we were thinking that this would be another one of your girl trips." Sasuke said, thinking back to how all four of the girls had gone on a spa trip for thanksgiving break.

"Well, I was pretty sure that you guys didn't want to go to a spa, but then again I guess I was wrong…" Sakura said teasingly.

Ino laughed at the face Sasuke gave his girlfriend at that statement. "Well, I think that the ski trip is a great idea." She said.

"And so do I, now that I know we're included." Shikamaru said.

"Well, I guess we just have to talk to the other two couples then." Sakura said, motioning towards the ice where the rest of their friends currently were. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some hot chocolate."

"Oh, can you get me some, too?" Ino asked. Sakura nodded as she got up to go get it.

"I'll get it." Sasuke said as he got up from the couch.

"Really?" Sakura said. "Thanks, Sasuke!"

"Yea, thanks!" Ino said.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he walked towards the concessions counter.

"So, Ino, if we do go, when should we go?" Sakura asked.

"Weeelll, I think that we should leave on Christmas Eve." Ino said. "That way we have some Christmas time with our families, but we can all spend Christmas day together. I can also get daddy to give us the best rooms." Ino said happily.

"Hmm…We'll have to ask everyone else then talk to our parents. I'm sure my mom and dad will be fine with it." Sakura said. "And then I won't have to deal with Taichi and his Christmas Day sugar rush." Sakura shuddered at the memories of past Christmases with her little brother. Somehow, her family members and relatives hadn't learned not to give him chocolate as a Christmas gift, and every year, he was bouncing off the walls even before breakfast.

Ino laughed, she'd seen Sakura's little brother when he'd had too much sugar, and she knew that Christmas Day was the worst. "Good thinking, forehead."

"What's good thinking?" TenTen asked as she walked over, sounding out of breath, but with her cheeks glowing. Neji was right beside her, and Naruto and Hinata were close behind them.

"Well," Sakura began, "we were thinking that we should all go somewhere together for Christmas break."

"That's a great idea!" TenTen exclaimed as she sat down on yet another little couch, with Neji beside her. Hinata and Naruto settled down across from them.

Naruto draped his arm across Hinata's shoulder, which caused Neji to glare at him. Naruto, however, remained clueless to Neji's glare as he exclaimed, "A trip together? Believe it! This is going to be so awesome!"

"Naruto," Hinata said, "they haven't finished telling us what they were thinking yet."

"Oh, I guess you're right." Naruto said.

"Well, anyways," Ino said, "we were thinking that we could go to my dad's new ski lodge. The only problem is, we want to leave on Christmas Eve so that we're there for Christmas Day. We wouldn't leave early, maybe around nine o' clock at night. That way we can exchange gifts with our families and everything." By this time, Sasuke had made his way back over to the group, and had handed Ino and Sakura their hot chocolates, taking his seat next to Sakura and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"I think that could work." Hinata said. "I just have to convince my dad that it'll be ok."

"I should be able to help you with that, Hinata." Neji said. "If I'm going, your father will probably agree. And you know my mom won't care."

"Thanks, Neji." Hinata said with a grateful smile to her cousin.

"I'm in." Naruto said. "Iruka won't be home for Christmas. He has some kind of business trip."

"You can spend Christmas Eve with my Family, Naruto." Hinata said sweetly. "Then we can just go to meet the others from there. Right Neji?"

"Hn." Was Neji's only reply to the purple haired girl's question.

"I think my mom is going to be the biggest problem." TenTen said.

"We can convince her, TenTen." Sakura said. TenTen smiled at her friend.

"Is it decided then?" Ino asked.

"I think so." Sakura replied with a smile. This was going to be the best vacation ever.

"Ok, let me call my dad then." Ino said, whipping out her cell phone. She quickly dialed her dad's number, and waited while the phone rang. "Daddy? Yes, it's Ino. Well, my friends and I were just talking about going on a vacation over break, and we decided to go to your new ski lodge. Mmhmm. We're going to leave around 9 on Christmas Eve. We were wondering if you could get us the best rooms. Two suites? Ok, that'll work. I love you too. Bye." Ino hung up the phone and looked at her friends. "He got us two suites."

"Only two?" Naruto asked. There were eight of them, and that wasn't a whole lot of room.

Ino laughed at her friends' reactions. "You guys don't understand. These are the best suites we can get. They're not just a bedroom and a living area with a small kitchen; there are four bedrooms in each suite, with a huge living area, as well as a small breakfast room. Daddy made this ski lodge to be the best."

"Oh, really?" Sakura asked. She had seen the plans before the lodge had been built, and she remembered seeing the plans for the two rooms Ino was talking about. "Weren't you the one who decorated them?"

"Ya, my dad decided to give me a little bit of responsibility, so I got to decorate the suites. It was fun." Ino said with a grin.

"Well, all that's left to do is deal with the rest of our parents, then." TenTen said with a sigh.

A/N: Ok, I wanted to write a Christmas story, so, I figured I'd make it the next part in my Konoha High series. I have so many ideas for this story, it's not even funny. There will definitely be major drama, because every drama idea I think I've ever gotten fits in perfectly with this story. Lol. Hopefully it'll be as good as/better than my other stories in this series. Well, feed back would be loved. 3


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Well, all that's left to do is deal with the rest of our parents, then." TenTen said with a sigh.

**The Next Day**

"Well, what did your mom say?" Ino asked TenTen as she walked into her bedroom. The girls had spent the night at TenTen's house in the hopes that her mother would be more likely to say yes if they were all there.

"Well…"TenTen said, looking at her friends. "She said no."

"What?!" Ino screeched. This couldn't be happening. She and her friend were all supposed to go to her father's resort over break and spend quality time with each other as well as their boyfriends.

"She said she doesn't want me going away on Christmas." TenTen said. "And that she doesn't trust me going on a vacation with my boyfriend. You know how she is."

"Why doesn't she trust Neji?" Sakura asked. Her mother trusted Sasuke a lot, and she knew Ino's parents trusted Shikamaru as well. Hinata's parents were weary of Naruto, but they didn't not trust him. They'd even agreed to the trip, after a short chat with Neji.

"I honestly don't know. She thinks he's part of my rebelling against them being so over protective, so maybe she just assumes he's a bad guy? She's met him before, so I really don't understand what is…" TenTen guessed. Maybe it was time to negotiate with her mom.

"Is there anything we can try to convince her to let you go?" Hinata asked quietly from where she sat on the floor.

"I don't know." TenTen said. "Maybe…it's crazy, but maybe I can try to make a deal with her…"

"Like what?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Like if she lets me go, I'll stop acting the way I've been acting for the entire school year." TenTen said with a sigh. She'd gotten mad at her parents for always being so strict with her and trying to be so involved in her life. She found them to be nosy and annoying. And the way they had acted the first time Neji had come over, before they even really knew each other, had been totally embarrassing and privacy invading. That's one of the main reasons she had started acting this way. She was sick of her mother trying to make her decisions for her.

"Are you sure that'll work?" Ino asked her friend. If TenTen couldn't go on the trip, there would be a damper on everyone's spirits. Especially Neji's.

"No, but I have to try something." TenTen replied as she got up and walked towards the door. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" the three girls chorused to their friend as she walked out of the room to find her mom.

"I really hope that she can go." Hinata said.

"Don't worry, she'll work everything out." Sakura said

**With TenTen**

TenTen walked down the hall towards her mom's study, where she had left her after she asked to go on the trip the first time. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Come in."

"Mom?" TenTen asked as she stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Her mother sighed as she set down the book she was reading, looking at her daughter. "TenTen, I already told you, you can't go on the trip."

"Mom, I know." TenTen said, "But, I came to try and make a deal with you."

"Like what?" her mother asked, watching her daughter as she sat down in the leather chair across from her desk.

"Like, I'll stop acting this way," TenTen said, looking her mother in the eyes, "if you let me go on this trip."

"TenTen." Her mother said. "I know that would be nice, but I really don't feel comfortable with you going on this trip."

"Why not?" TenTen asked. "You let me go at Thanksgiving."

"That was different." Her mother said, looking at her daughter's facial expression, which was ranging between shock and anger.

"Different how?" TenTen asked. "The fact that Neji wasn't there?"

"You know that's not it." Her mother said. "But still, I don't think you should be going on vacation with those boys."

"Look, mom. I already told you. The girls have one suite, and the guys have another." TenTen explained. "We'll just be hanging out every day. And Ino's dad said that the staff will be keeping an eye on us, and reporting to him if we get into trouble."

"Look, TenTen…"her mother started.

"Look, mother." TenTen cut her off. "You want me to stop the way I've been acting, right?" Her mother nodded at this. "Then I'll stop if you let me go on this vacation. I'll even sit down and have 'family talk' with you if you want, just please let me go!"

"Ok," her mother said. "You can go. But every day that week, I expect a phone call. Once a night. And you'll tell me everything that's been happening. We'll also start having a family discussion night on Wednesday's, and you can tell us everything that's going on in your life."

TenTen seemed to not here anything after the words 'you can go.' Her facial expression turned to one of joy, as she ran around the desk and hugged her mother. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Her mother hugged her back weakly. _'She hasn't been this excited about something I've said since she was seven.'_ She though happily. Maybe this deal would turn out to be for the better.

After letting go of her mother, TenTen raced back down the hallway to her room, she flung open the door, and shouted excitedly, "She said yes!"

"Really?" Ino asked happily.

"TenTen, this is great!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I'm so happy!" Hinata said.

"I know so am I." TenTen said, still smiling. "There are a few conditions I have to agree to, but I can deal with it. This is going to be the best vacation ever!"

"You know it is!" Ino exclaimed and all the girls laughed.

A/N: Ok, I've been sick all week with a really bad cold, and for some reason, I've had a lot more homework than usual. I honestly had trouble deciding on how to create this chapter, but ended up choosing to have TenTen's mother say no and then have her negotiate til she could go. I guess that's really all I have to say. Reviews are loved!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"You know it is!" Ino exclaimed and all the girls laughed.

Time until the day of their departure flew by rapidly. The girls, of course, packed and repacked, trying to bring everything that they 'needed' in their bags. Of course, the number of bags that they currently had, if combined, could take up an entire car. Which led to their current conversation.

"What d you mean we can't take all of this?" Sakura asked looking at Ino in shock. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and the day before they all left. They'd all had their bags taken to Ino's house so that they could have them loaded into the limo. Unfortunately, it didn't quite fit. In actuality, it was quite far from fitting. Only Ino and TenTen's bags were in the trunk, and they were out of room.

"I mean, we're going to have to try something else." Ino said. "Is there anything that you guys don't need?"

"How about is there anything that you don't need, Ino?" Sakura asked back to her friend.

"Nope." Ino said, starting to point at each bag as she said, "This one has presents for everyone in it, this one has my shoes in it, this one has my tops, this one has my bottoms, and this one has accessories and necessities. None of it can be taken out." The girls looked at each other. Everyone except for TenTen had packed much the same as Ino. The only difference was, TenTen had managed to fit her shoes in with her accessories and necessities, since she didn't need nearly as many as Sakura and Ino.

"What are we going to do, then?" TenTen asked her friend's, looking at their faces. She knew someone was going to have to give in.

"What if we sent a car ahead of us?" Hinata spoke up quietly from where she was sitting on her suitcase. "That way we can fit our entire luggage, and the boys can put their luggage in the car that we're traveling in."

"I completely forgot that the boys would have luggage too!" Ino exclaimed, her eyes looking as if she had come into a realization of something important.

"Hinata's idea is a good one." Sakura said, thinking it over.

"If we don't, there's no way that we can all take all of this." TenTen said. "Who's driver is going to do it?"

"Mine will." Sakura said. "If one of you guys will give me a lift home. I'm not going to fit in the car with the luggage."

"Ok, I can do that." Hinata said with a smile.

"Alright. I'll call my driver now." Sakura said picking up her phone and taking a step away from her friends so their chatter wouldn't interfere with her phone conversation.

"I guess this means dilemma solved." TenTen said.

"It totally does." Ino said with a grin on her face.

"My driver said he'll be here in half an hour so we can load the luggage into the car." Sakura said, walking back over to rejoin her friends.

"Ok, I guess we can go inside until then." Ino said. "Our stuff should be fine out here." The girls nodded in agreement as they followed Ino into the house.

Once they were all settled in Ino's room, Sakura spoke up, "So we're all meeting here tomorrow, right?"

"Yup." Ino replied. "Right after we're done celebrating with our families."

"I guess I'll have Sasuke pick me up on his way over here." Sakura said, thinking of the fact that her driver would already be at the ski lodge, or possibly already on the way back. Whichever it was, her driver wouldn't be back in time to get her to Ino's.

"You probably should." Ino said. "But doesn't his driver have off for the holidays?" It was true; the Uchiha's gave the majority of their household staff off for the Holidays.

"I'm sure he'll have someone to drive us." Sakura said with a shrug.

"Naruto's coming over to my house for Christmas Eve…"Hinata said, looking a little worried. "I'm kind of nervous…my parents don't think too highly of him, because he's been so unsupervised most of his life."

"Don't worry, I'm sure things will go fine." TenTen said, ensuring her friend of the next day.

"I hope that you're right." Hinata said, looking at the floor. She wasn't so sure herself. Naruto's behavior could be unpredictable, although he'd promised to act his best tomorrow.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, Hinata." Sakura said, as if reading her friend's mind. "You know he is about his promises, he never goes back on them."

Hinata smiled at her friend gratefully. Sakura was right. She didn't need to be half as worried as she was, so she would try to relax some about it.

"Ok, so, now, I just have to tell you guys this." Ino said, her eyes gleaming. "I got you guys the most awesome presents! I can't wait to see your faces when you open them!"

"Ino." Sakura groaned. She did this every year to them, and then refused to tell them what she got them, refraining from even giving them the slightest clue except that it was 'the greatest gift ever.' Then, she would try and figure out all her presents before she got them. It was the opposite of fair, but it was the way Ino was about presents.

"What?" Ino asked, looking innocently at her friends. She knew they knew she was going to try to figure out her gifts.

"We're not slipping up this year." TenTen warned. Last year, Ino had gotten TenTen and Hinata to slip up and tell her what they'd gotten her. TenTen was positive that this year Ino wasn't going to get her to slip up, basically because she'd lasted this long. Only two days left, and she knew she could make it.

"Says you." Ino said with a light laugh.

"I'm on my guard." TenTen mumbled. Last year it had been an extremely stupid slip-up, and Ino had been delighted with the ease that TenTen had told her. All she had done was ask, so what are you getting Ino? As they were talking about presents and TenTen had told her before she realized who she was talking too.

"Sure you are." Ino chirped happily. TenTen sighed, and then Sakura's phone started ringing.

A/N: So, so sorry for the late update! Despite my hopes of getting better by Tuesday, I actually ended up getting even sicker, and my mom still made me go to school, so fun stuff there. I also found a new addiction in the twilight series. I read Twilight last Saturday, and then ordered the other two off of Amazon Sunday. Once I got them I read them like crazy. If you haven't read them, you should. They're amazing. I also just got a tablet for my birthday on Tuesday, and I've been practicing with that. Well, enough about that. This chapter is kind of blah to me, pretty much a filler because I didn't feel flipping straight to Christmas Eve. And I made Ino totally like me about presents. I love figuring out what I get before I get it. Well, reviews are loved!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Sure you are." Ino chirped happily. TenTen sighed, and then Sakura's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Sakura asked. "Mmhmm. Ok, sure." She then turned to look at her friends. "My drivers here, and he loaded our bags into the car already. He said there's just enough space left for me to squeeze in with them. So I'll be seeing you girls tomorrow!"

"Ok, by, Sakura." Ino said.

"Bye." said Hinata and TenTen, smiling at their friend as she left.

**The Next Day **

"Naruto?" Hinata asked, speaking to her boyfriend. Naruto was sitting next to her in the back of her limo, wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, dress shoes, and a tie. He looked a bit uncomfortable. Hinata was sitting across from him, wearing a deep purple, satin knee length dress.

"Ya, Hinata?" Naruto asked, tugging at his tie. Despite the fact that he wore one every day to school, he'd never get used to having to wear one properly, or having it be this tight.

"Are you going to be ok tonight?" Hinata asked him, looking a bit concerned.

"I'll be fine! Don't worry about me! Believe it!" Naruto said, holding his thumb up for his girlfriend to see.

"If you say so." Hinata replied, still looking a bit concerned. "Please remember, though, Christmas Eve is a really big event at my house. It's not just my direct family, but all of my aunt's and uncle's, and my grandparents too. They'll all be…well, judging you."

"Don't worry, Hinata." Naruto said. "Everything will go perfectly."

'_That's what I hope…' _Hinata thought, while smiling at her boyfriend in reply.

"So what exactly happens tonight that's such a big deal?" Naruto asked.

"Well, we hardly ever have big family dinners, so having everyone get together for this is really big. What will happen is first we all get together in the big family room while the older women cook. I'll probably be called back from time to time to help." Hinata explained. "When dinner's ready, we'll all be called in. There are place cards with everyone's names on them. Find yours and sit there. My father will carve the turkey, since he's now the official head of the family, having taken over my grandfather's company. No one eats until the turkey is carved."

"Ok, is that it?" Naruto asked. For being a family get together it seemed…so formal. No wonder Hinata had been insistent that he dress up for the occasion.

"Not exactly." Hinata said. "The maids will bring dinner out in courses. The Turkey is cut before the first course, but not eaten then. We have appetizers first, then the main meal, then dessert. After dinner, we all retire to the Living room, where the Christmas tree is set up with the presents under it. We'll then open our presents, which will be handed out by the younger children, who are playing the parts of Santa's helpers."

"Now is that it?" Naruto asked. He was going to have a hard time remembering the order of things.

"Basically." Hinata said. "Are you sure you can remember all of that?"

'_It's like she read my mind.' _Naruto thought. "Of course I can, Hinata! I'll do everything right, you'll see!"

"Ok." Hinata replied, and then warned him, "I'll be helping you, Naruto. I don't think anyone expects you to do everything perfectly, since you've never been to a family even before. They'll still be watching you. Come on, let's get out now. They'll be wondering what's taking so long."

As Naruto had been listening to Hinata, he hadn't realized that the limo had indeed stopped outside of her house, and the driver was holding the door open for them to climb out.

"Ok." Naruto said, gulping once and pushing all fear out of his mind. He might not be scared of many things, but he wanted Hinata's family to like him. Hinata linked her arm through his, and led him to the door of the house, opening it, and leading him towards the big family room, where he could already hear the buzz of chatter coming from her entire family.

Hinata gave her boyfriend a reassuring smile as they stepped into the doorway of the well lit room. It seemed as if the chatter stopped, and as if everyone's attention was on them. Hinata smiled and greeted her family with a slight bow, having unlinked her arms from Naruto's. Naruto followed suit, doing what Hinata did.

"Hinata, why don't you come over here?" an older couple beckoned for her to join them in front of the fire place. Hinata nodded as she walked towards them, Naruto trailing behind.

"Hinata, why don't you introduce your friend to us?" the lady asked her.

"Of course, Grandmother." Hinata replied with a smile. "Grandmother, Grandfather, this is Naruto Uzamaki, my boyfriend. Naruto, these are my grandparents."

"It's nice to meet you." Naruto said, extending his hand to Hinata's grandfather, only to be pulled into a hug by her grandmother. Naruto's face registered shock. As far as he knew, Hinata was the only Hyuga to ever really show her emotions, with a few exceptions from Neji. He wasn't expecting this at all.

'I'm sorry, dear." Hinata's grandmother said, releasing him. "But I've just heard so much about you from Hinata, and I'm glad she's found someone like you as her boyfriend." At this, Hinata's grandfather grumbled, obviously voicing that his opinion was the opposite. "Oh, shush, dear. I know you're happy for Hinata, too."

"I'm just letting him know that if my granddaughter gets hurt, there'll be a price to pay." Her grandfather said, glaring at Naruto.

"Sir, I'd never dream of hurting Hinata." Naruto said, wide-eyed. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Hinata blushed at this statement by her boyfriend, and Naruto just smiled at her. Hinata's grandfather still watched Naruto warily, but nodded at his statement.

"Young love is so adorable." Hinata's grandmother stated, causing Hinata to blush even more. "Well, dear, you'd better go introduce this young man to everyone else before dinner."

"Yes, grandmother." Hinata said, and then she turned to Naruto. "Come on, we have a lot of people for you to meet." Naruto looked around the room and saw the numerous people who were glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes. He hoped that more of them would be like Hinata's grandmother, and less of them would be like her grandfather.

A/N: So, so sorry for the late update! I've had so much to do, and have hardly found the time to type. I apologize greatly! Well, this chapter begins Naruto's Christmas Eve with Hinata's family. I wonder how much he can do wrong in one night? Haha. Well, I decided to make Hinata's grandmother, well, the unexpected. I didn't even expect to portray her like that. XD Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are loved!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

He hoped that more of them would be like Hinata's grandmother, and less of them would be like her grandfather.

After being dragged around the room by Hinata, going from family member to family member, most of them uncles and cousins since her aunts were working on the dinner, Naruto was sure he would be fine without having to meet anyone else for a long while.

"Are we almost done, Hinata?" Naruto whispered to his girlfriend.

Hinata shook her head and looked at him. "You still need to be properly introduced to my father." Naruto looked wide-eyed at Hinata. She'd talked to his father on the phone a few times, and seen him at the door, but they'd never actually had a conversation and been formally introduced. This was one of his worst night-mares, but he put on a brave face for Hinata.

"Is that all?" He asked.

Hinata looked at him and mentally sweat dropped. She could see how nervous he was, something he hardly ever was, about this. "Yes, that's all, Naruto."

"Then let's hurry." Naruto said.

"Ok, Naruto." Hinata said. She took him by the hand, and guided him over to where her father had just walked into the room, currently conversing with one of her relatives. As she approached them, her relative excused himself and walked across the room, so that Hinata could speak with her father.

"Father." Hinata said, bowing slightly to her father. Naruto did as Hinata did, yet again, and straightened up when she did.

"Hinata." Her father said, nodding at his eldest daughter.

"Father, this is Naruto Uzamaki." Hinata said. "My boyfriend."

Hiashi looked at Naruto, and said, "I know."

Naruto looked at Hiashi, and awkwardly stuck out his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hyuga."

Hiashi looked at his hand for a minute, and as if deciding that it wouldn't kill him, took it and shook it firmly. Naruto shook back. Hinata watched the exchange of greetings.

"Hinata." Hiashi said once he had released Naruto's hand, "You and Naruto will be sitting by me at dinner."

Hinata's face expressed little emotion as she replied, "Yes, Father." As soon as her father had walked over towards her grandparents, Hinata turned to Naruto and whispered, "Sitting by my father at dinner is an extreme honor. It means everyone will be watching us tonight."

"Really?" Naruto asked. This wasn't what he had been expecting. He had thought they'd ship him off to the far end of the table where the not-so-important people sat, and then if he forgot something, he wouldn't be seen. But now…everyone would see everything he did. This was a bad omen.

Hinata nodded in reply to his question. "Naruto, if you'd like, we can go into the other room and go over the dinner courses in more detail…"

"Don't worry about me, Hinata, I'll be fine!' Naruto said, grinning his smile at her.

"If you're sure, Naruto." Hinata said, a bit nervously. She hadn't expected her father to request their presence with him during the dinner. It was extremely unusual to be asked to sit at the head of the table. Hinata normally sat with her cousins, at the separate table. She had been expecting to at least sit there, where Naruto wouldn't be ridiculed as harshly if he messed up any. But her father had probably decided to show off his company heir this Christmas or something of the likes.

"Don't worry, I'm sure." Naruto insisted.

"Ok then." Hinata said, looking around the room for somewhere for them to sit down. She spotted two empty chairs, conveniently set away from the others. "Let's go sit down until we're called for dinner." Naruto nodded, and followed Hinata to where they sat down and chatted quietly until they were called into the other room for dinner by Hinata's mother. Naruto stood up right away, and started walking, only to be pulled back by Hinata, who was still standing by the chairs. "We don't leave until after my grandparents and father walk out. Then my sister and I walk out behind my father."

"Oh." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. "Heheh, I knew that."

Hinata was silent as she watched her grandparents walked by, and prodded Naruto when they were to walk out of the room. To Naruto, it seemed like everything in Hinata's household had order and procession to it. And to a major extent, too. He couldn't believe there was a proper order to exiting a room. He followed Hinata into the large dining room, and his eyes grew wide at the size of the table. It could easily seat fifty people. Hinata walked down to the end of the table, and motioned for Naruto to sit across from her, to Hiashi's right, with Hinata sitting on Hiashi's left. Naruto watched as Hinata unfolded the napkin and set it in her lap, leaving the silverware on the edge of her plate.

He tried to follow suit, but the napkins were cloth, and had been folded into some origami figure, making it hard for him to unwrap it. Hinata motioned for him to tug the corner, so he did, and it unfolded immediately. Naruto smiled at Hinata and she smiled back.

"I'd like to welcome everyone to dinner tonight." Hiashi said, looking down the table at his family where they all sat. Hinata's mother was sitting at the opposite end from him. As Hiashi said this, a maid acme into the dining room, and set down a large turkey in front of him. He picked up his knife and fork, ready to cut the bird, when a clatter came from Naruto's seat. Everyone looked towards his seat, and Naruto popped back up from the floor, where he had bent down to retrieve his silverware.

'Sorry about that, everyone." Naruto said, smiling apologetically at Hinata's family. Some of the family member shook their heads, and a few whispered to their neighbors, while others just continued to act as if nothing had interrupted tradition. Hinata turned a light pink from the attention she was receiving, and Hiashi carried on as if Naruto hadn't just dropped his silverware.

A/N: Soo sorry for the late update! I honestly didn't realize how much school work I had until I started working on it yesterday morning before I gave art lessons. Well, Naruto did mess up, although I'm not sure if he will anymore or not. Next chapter will have more on after dinner. Again, sorry for the late update! Reviews are loved!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Hinata turned a light pink from the attention she was receiving, and Hiashi carried on as if Naruto hadn't just dropped his silverware. Almost immediately after the first bit of turkey was cut, a maid stepped out and handed Naruto a new set of silverware, whisking away his dirty fork, spoon, and knife. She picked them up as if they were covered in mud, holding them wrapped in a napkin by just two fingers. Apparently, dropped silverware was a big no-no in the Hyuga household. Almost as soon as the one maid walked out of the dining room, half a dozen walked in, carrying big bowls of soup, bowls of salad, breadsticks, and even a medley of fancy dips and chips. They set them down in the middle of the table, and then left as quickly as they had come in.

'_Why did Hinata's family cook all of this food when they have this big of a house-hold staff?'_ Naruto wondered incredulously.

As if reading his mind, Hinata said to him in a low voice, "My family cooks the dinner because they've done it for as long as any of them can remember. It's a way for them to spend time together, and show off any knew kitchen skills they may have learned."

Naruto nodded in response to Hinata's answer of his silent question. She smiled at him from across the table. Naruto wanted to lean over and get some of the food, but he figured there had to be some sort of way to do that as well. He watched Hinata closely as he waited, trying to figure out what she was going to do. After a few more minutes of sitting there, Naruto saw Hinata's father move out of the corner of his eye. He trained his eyes on him, watching what he was doing. He was ladling some soup into his bowl from the one that was between Naruto and Hinata. As soon as he did this, everyone else started to get their food as well.

Naruto, being as ravenous as he was, grabbed a breadstick and ladled some of the delicious smelling soup into his bowl as well, and began eating. He continued for the entire dinner watching first Hinata and then Hiashi, waiting for someone else to place food on their plates first. When the meal was finally over, Hinata motioned for Naruto to stand up and follow her out of the room. He did as Hinata wished him to do.

As soon as they were out of the dining room, away from the conversing adults, Naruto asked, "So how bad was the whole silver-ware thing?"

"Well…"Hinata started, "It wasn't too bad. I guess I should've warned you about the napkins beforehand, though. My family tends to go overboard with that. They also tend to over exaggerate. Some of my aunts and uncles are probably appalled that you dropped your silverware, but some of them were probably just not expecting something like that to happen during the turkey carving."

"Is that it?" Naruto asked.

"I figured I should give you a heads up in a little more detail about the whole presents thing." Hinata explained to him. "My father agreed with me."

When Hinata had spoken to her father about this was beyond him, but Naruto was willing to listen if it meant not screwing up again. "Ok then."

"Well, first, stay back from the Christmas tree. There's nothing wrong with going near it, but once my cousins see the presents…they g a little bit crazy." Hinata said.

Naruto remembered what Hinata had said in the limo and asked, "They hand out everyone's presents to them, right?"

Hinata nodded in response to his question. "They pretty much swarm the tree, if that's even the right word. Then they'll start handing everyone's gifts. Nobody opens any gifts until they're all handed out. And then my grandparents open their gifts first, while everyone watches. Then my father opens one gift, and then everyone else can open their gifts after that."

"Wow," Naruto said. "Iruka and I normally just tear into our gifts, although we don't usually have a lot. A few from each other, and then some from friends."

Hinata sighed lightly with a small smile, "My family just has to make everything complicated."

"I can't argue too much with you there." Naruto said, grinning widely at her.

"Still, it shouldn't be too hard." Hinata said. "We can sit a little bit away from everyone. We can actually probably go there now. That way we'll be in there before everyone else."

"Ok." Naruto said. He knew he couldn't mess this up, because he just had to sit there and watch everyone else open up their presents. He followed Hinata into the living room to where a giant Christmas tree was set up. His eyes widened at the number of presents that had been placed under and around it.

"I know, it's a bit much, isn't it?' Hinata asked noticing her boyfriend's expression.

"It's just different from what I'm used to." Naruto explained.

Hinata nodded before saying, "We can sit over here, near the fireplace. Everyone else will want to sit closer to the tree. Neji will probably join us over here, though."

Naruto realized just then that he had yet to see his friend tonight. "Where has he been all night anyways?"

"Around." Hinata stated simply. "He doesn't enjoy being around our family too much. He tends to stay a bit low profile at family events." Naruto nodded. He could understand where his friend was coming from. If he hadn't been with Hinata, he probably would have tried to find his friend earlier, and stay with him wherever he had been.

Just then, Hinata's relatives started trickling in from dinner. Naruto noticed Neji almost immediately, and saw Hinata motion for him to join them near the fireplace. He saw, and headed towards them.

"Naruto. Hinata." Neji said as he sat down in a big chair next to the loveseat Hinata and Naruto were sharing.

"Hey Neji." Naruto replied.

"Merry Christmas, Neji." Hinata said.

"Hn." Was Neji's only response. Naruto focused his attentions to the little kids that were swarming the tree, just as Hinata had said. One of them would grab a package, read the name, shout it out, and then go find the person that the gift was for. It seemed that they were competing to see who could get the most presents handed out before they were all gone. He noticed a kid about four years old crawling under the tree, trying to get a present out from under it he guessed. He kept watching, but the kid didn't come out, and then the tree started to sway a little bit.

"It's going to fall over." He whispered. Hinata and Neji looked over at the tree, and alight gasp was heard from Hinata.

The kids' eyes grew wide as they backed away from the tree, as far as they could, but Naruto still didn't see the little one who'd gone under the tree come out. And the tree looked as if it was about to tip over. Some of the adults were herding the children to the back of the room hurriedly, and Naruto stood up without thinking and raced towards the tree. He got down on his stomach, and pulled himself under, seeing the frightened four year old cowering next to a box he had apparently been trying to move, but had been unable to move due to its size. The tree was going over now, and Naruto did the only thing he could. He pulled himself overtop of the four year old, covering him with his body.

A/N: Hmm…I've had this in mind since before last chapter, but when disaster struck, it wasn't Naruto's fault. I guess we'll see how it all turns out next week. I'd really like you guys to review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, basically because I had some trouble writing it, and getting it to the point that I want…Please tell me what you think! The more reviews I get, the more I want to start the next chapter. )


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The tree was going over now, and Naruto did the only thing he could. He pulled himself overtop of the four year old, covering him with his body.

"Naruto." Hinata gasped as the tree toppled over on top of her boyfriend. Her face paled, and she looked a bit dizzy. Neji took one look at his cousin and sat her down on the couch before running over to the tree to help his uncles move it. It was so large, it took all of them to move it, and it was still hard to do. When the tree had been moved, they saw Naruto laying there. Neji bent down to flip his friend over to his back, and found one of his cousins, looking terrified, under his friend.

Naruto's eyes opened as he asked, "Is he okay?"

"He's fine Naruto." Neji said, helping his cousin up as his aunt came running over, crying from the shock that her son had been in danger. She hugged him tightly as she picked him up, and carried him over to the sofa. He too was sobbing now, the after shock sinking in.

"That's good." Naruto replied, grinning, then he wincing slightly.

"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, running over to her boyfriend. She had recovered from her initial shock, and now ran towards him to see if he was ok.

"Hinata." Naruto said quietly.

"Are you ok?" She asked him, kneeling down next to him.

"I'm fine." Naruto lied. His leg and arm were killing him, but he didn't need to tell then that. Hinata leaned down and helped him into a sitting position, then hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face. Naruto lifted his arm to rub her back, but he just grimaced from the pain. Neji noticed this.

"Naruto, I think you should go to the hospital." Neji said.

"I'm fine Neji." Naruto replied. "I don't need to go anywhere." Hinata sat back, releasing Naruto slightly, and looked at her boyfriend, then looked at her cousin. Neji leaned over and gently touched Naruto's arm, and watched as his friend winced.

"Your facial expression says otherwise." Neji replied.

"Neji is right, Naruto." Hinata said worriedly. "You should go to the hospital."

"I'm fine, I don't want to ruin anyone's Christmas Eve." Naruto said.

"You won't ruin anyone's Christmas Eve unless you don't go get yourself checked out, Naruto." Hiashi said, his voice coming from behind Naruto. "You'll go to the hospital. Can you walk?"

Naruto tried to stand up with Hinata's help, but found he couldn't put weight on his right leg. Neji stepped forward and helped his friend to lean on his shoulder, Neji acting as his crutch.

"Thanks Neji." Naruto said.

"Hn." Neji replied.

"I'll drive you there. Everyone else, well continue as if nothing happened. Understood?" Hiashi commanded. His family nodded, and some of the family started to pick up some of the ornaments that were on the floor, while someone called for a maid to come and sweep the area around the tree. Another person herded the children out the door, away from the broken glass, promising that if they behaved, they'd be allowed to open their presents soon.

Neji helped Naruto hobble out to Hiashi's car, with a worried Hinata walking behind them. Once they were seated in the car and everyone was buckled, Naruto said, "Guys, someone should call everyone and let them know what happened. Neji nodded and pulled out his cell phone, calling his friends to let them know that they might be a little bit late to leave for the ski lodge.

**With Sakura**

Sakura was upstairs in her room, grabbing last minute necessities. She and her family had already exchanged gifts, and Sasuke was coming to pick her up in about fifteen minutes. She was just throwing her toothbrush in her bag when her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked, seeing that it had been Neji's number on her phone's caller ID.

'_Sakura?'_

"Ya, it's me. What's up?"

"_Well, Naruto had an accident at my family's Christmas celebration.'_

"An accident?" Sakura asked. This was Naruto they were talking about, so it must be something really bad to have them call her about it.

'_The Christmas tree fell on him. We're taking him to the emergency room now.'_

"The tree?!" Sakura exclaimed. She'd seen Hinata's Christmas tree. It was enormous. Naruto was lucky to be conscious right now.

'_Ya. He's fine aside from his arm and leg. We might be a little late for our departure.' _

"Don't worry, all that matters is that Naruto's all right. We'll wait for you guys, ok?"

'_All right. I'd better go. I've already called everyone else, and we're almost at the hospital.'_

"Ok, bye. Tell Naruto I hope he's ok." She heard a 'Hn' as the phone hung up and sat down on her bed. She felt a bit lightheaded. Her best friend's boyfriend, one of her other best friends, had just basically had a brush with death. She didn't care if he was fine or not, that tree was huge. It could have easily killed him. She stood back up and walked around her room, looking blankly at everything there, grabbing this and that for her bag. Before she knew it, her phone was ringing again.

"Hello?" She asked. She knew it was Sasuke, even though she hadn't looked at the caller ID.

'_Hey. We're outside.' _Sasuke's voice came over the phone loud and clear, and was just what she needed to hear right now.

"Ok, I'll be out in a minute." Sakura said, hanging up. She grabbed her bag, and her purse, and ran downstairs to find her parents. They were sitting in the living room, by the Christmas tree, watching Taichi play with some of his toys they'd given him.

"Hey, I'm leaving." She said, leaning in the doorway.

Her mother stood up and walked over towards her. "Ok. Be good, and have fun. I love you." She said, hugging her daughter.

"I love you, too." Sakura said, hugging her mother back. She walked over to her dad once her mother released her and leaned down to hug him.

"Bye, dad. I love you." Sakura said.

"Bye sweetie. Behave yourself." He said.

"I always do, don't I." Sakura said, smiling at him.

"Of course." Her father said, rolling his eyes and smiling.

"Bye Taichi." Sakura said, looking over at her little brother.

"Bye, Sakura. Bring me something from the gift shop, ok?" Taichi said, beaming at his older sister.

"We'll see. Only if you're good." Sakura said. "I'll be calling mom and dad."

"Ok." Taichi said.

"Well, bye." Sakura said, pausing in the doorway and smiling at her parents and brother one last time before walking out the door, and running to Sasuke's car. When she got in, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips lightly.

"Well, well." A voice said from the front of the car. "Didn't I say that you'd become his girlfriend?"

"Lay off, Itachi." Sasuke said, glaring at his brother.

"Don't worry, Sasuke." Itachi said, "I'll leave you and your little girlfriend alone. I promised to when you asked me to be the driver." By the smirk on Itachi's face, Sasuke knew his brother was thinking otherwise.

A/N: ok, late update, I know. My friends ended up spending the night last night, and we went to the mall all day today, and I didn't have time to add the last bit of the chapter on. Poor Sasuke and Sakura, but someone had to see that coming when Ino pointed out that Sasuke's family gave their driver Christmas Eve off. And Naruto will be fine, thankfully. Well, I love reviews! )


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

By the smirk on Itachi's face, Sasuke knew his brother was thinking otherwise.

"Did Neji call you?" Sakura asked him, looking worried.

"Ya he did. Don't worry; I heard the dobe in the background. He's still convinced that he's going to beat me in a snowboarding race." Sasuke said, smirking at the thought.

"From what Neji said happened to him, I don't think he'll be skiing or snowboarding at all. He's lucky to be alive." Sakura said.

"Trust me." Sasuke said. "Naruto heals faster than anybody I know. By the end of the week, he'll at least be standing on a snowboard."

"That's good." Sakura said, resting her head on Sasuke's shoulder, only to see Itachi smirking at her in the rearview mirror, causing her to blush a light pink. This just caused Itachi's smirk to widen.

"So, little brother, what are you two planning to do on this vacation of yours?" Itachi asked, directing his attentions to Sasuke.

"Skiing, hanging out." Sasuke replied bluntly.

"And what exactly does 'hanging out' refer to?" Itachi asked, glancing at Sakura meaningly. This caused her to blush even more deeply.

"It refers to hanging out. Just like I said, Itachi." Sasuke said, giving his older brother his death glare.

"If you say so, little brother." Itachi said rather innocently.

"I do say so." Sasuke said, wrapping his arm around Sakura's waist.

"So, Sakura." Itachi said. "Are you planning on enjoying your vacation?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke uncertainly, and he shrugged, so she answered him, "I'm really looking forward to getting some time away with my friends."

"I can imagine so." Itachi said.

"Ya. I love my family, but they can be annoying at times." Sakura said.

"I know exactly how that is." Itachi said, changing his line of eyesight to Sasuke now.

"And so do I." Sasuke mumbled.

"I'm not that bad, little brother, am I?" Itachi asked smirking.

"Ya, about as not bad as a toothache." Sasuke replied. Sakura laughed lightly at the brothers' banter. She and Taichi fought all the time, so she understood where they were coming from.

"I'm deeply hurt, little brother." Itachi said, faking a pout.

"So sure that you are." Sasuke said.

"So, Sasuke," Sakura said, cutting off the brothers banter, "what kind of surprises do you think Ino has for us?"

"I'm not sure." Sasuke said. "Do you have any clue?"

Sakura shook her head, and then said, "Weelll, I know that we each get a certain color for skiing equipment. That's it though. She told us the rest is a secret."

"Didn't she have us bring formal clothes for a reason, though?" Sasuke asked.

"She said something about one of the restaurants near the resort being fancy, so yes." Sakura said.

Itachi smirked at their ideas. He knew exactly what was up their friend's sleeves, because he had aided her in it. If only he could see their faces…

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

"Here we are." Itachi said, pulling up into Ino's driveway, and stopping the musings of the two teenagers in the backseat.

"Thank you for taking us, Itachi." Sakura said with a smile.

"It was my pleasure, Sakura." Itachi said. "I'll see you when you get back, Sasuke."

"Hn." Sasuke said, following Sakura out the door of his brother's car.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed, running down the front steps of her house as Sasuke was shutting the door of the car.

"Hey, Ino." Sakura said, walking towards her friend.

"What do think about Naruto? Is he really going to be fine?" Ino asked.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, then back at Ino. "Sasuke seems sure that he'll be fine, so don't worry about him, Ino."

"Ok, then." Ino said. "Let's go inside. We're going to wait until they get released from the hospital to leave. Shikamaru is already here, but we're waiting for TenTen."

Sakura nodded. She'd had a feeling that Ino would post-pone their departure, and she was totally fine with it. She grabbed Sasuke's hand, since he was standing a little behind her, and followed her friend into the house to wait.

**With Hinata, Neji, Naruto, and Hiashi**

"Come on, Naruto." Hinata said, "It's just a little bit further to the door."

"Ok, Hinata." Naruto said, mustering up a smile for his girlfriend. They'd had to park a ways away from the emergency room entrance, and Naruto was finding it difficult to walk that far with having to use Neji as his other foot.

Hinata walked ahead a few steps, and opened the door for them, letting Neji and Naruto pas through, then her father. She helped Naruto get settled in a chair, while Hiashi and Neji went to the front desk to sign him in and tell them what they though was wrong with Naruto.

"Are you comfortable, Naruto?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"Hinata, I told you, I'm fine." Naruto said.

"I know, but I'm still worried about your leg and your arm." Hinata said, looking at the mentioned body parts as she spoke. His arm was now swollen to a few times its normal size, as was his leg. She couldn't see much of his leg because of his pants, but she could see that his arm looked positively awful.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine. Ask Neji, I heal faster than anybody he knows." Naruto said with a grin.

"Neji, is that true?" Hinata asked her cousin who was now approaching them.

"Hn." Neji replied. "Yes, Hinata, it is true."

"Ok then…" Hinata said, not quite believing the two of them. They all sat in the waiting room for about five minutes before they were called back for Naruto to get X-rays.

Naruto looked shocked as he exclaimed, "Already?!"

"Naruto, my uncle has a big influence in most parts of Konoha, the hospital included." Neji said, while his Uncle nodded in confirmation of this.

"Well, Mr. Hyuga, thanks for getting me back so fast, we might not be as late as we thought we would be." Naruto grinned as he got up, and leaned on Neji's shoulder to follow the nurse back. Hinata followed right behind him, with Hiashi behind her.

A/N: Ok, sooo sorry for the late update! I've been working like crazy on this chapter all weekend, trying to get it finished by today. I've had a lot going on with school, and then my mom has decided to go on a cleaning spree. And my chemistry teacher is making a lab that half of the class missed on Friday, due on Monday. Fun, fun, fun. Well, anyways, I don't really know what to say about this chapter, so, I guess that's it. Reviews are loved!!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! 

"Well, Mr. Hyuga, thanks for getting me back so fast, we might not be as late as we thought we would be." Naruto grinned as he got up, and leaned on Neji's shoulder to follow the nurse back. Hinata followed right behind him, with Hiashi behind her.

**With Sakura, Ino, Sasuke and Shikamaru**

The four of them sat there, in a nervous, uncomfortable silence. The girls were too worried about Naruto, and Sasuke and Shikamaru were too smart to risk upsetting them further. Fortunately, the doorbell rang and both the girls jumped up shouting, "I'll get it!" in unison. 

When they had left the room, Sasuke looked at Shikamaru. "I don't know why they won't believe us. The dobe is going to be fine."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "We'll just have to let them wait and see Naruto for themselves. That's the only way they'll believe us. Hopefully TenTen will be more sensible about everything." 

"Hn." Sasuke said as the three girls entered the room.

"Hi, Sasuke, Shikamaru." TenTen greeted with a smile on her face. 

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

"Hey." Shikamaru said. 

"Have you heard from Neji?" Sakura asked her friend. 

"Mmhm." TenTen said as she nodded. "He called me not too long ago. He said Naruto was getting his X-rays done, and that the doctor said he'd probably just broken something, and that it was nothing severe. He told me that Naruto wants every to know not to worry, because he's still going to beat Sasuke in a snowboarding race." 

Sasuke merely Hned at this piece of information, and Sakura and Ino sighed. They were happy that Naruto was definitely going to be alright, but they knew he wouldn't be snowboarding by the end of the week. Especially not on his injured leg. 

"So, how long do you think it'll be before we can leave?" Shikamaru asked TenTen. It was getting late, and they had a few hours on the road ahead of them, even if they weren't the ones driving. 

"It shouldn't be too long. It all depends on what's broken and what's not." TenTen said. 

"Ok." Shikamaru said. He was guessing, an hour, two hours tops before they could leave. 

TenTen nodded then motioned to the small bag in her hand. "What should I do with this?" 

"We already put our last minute bags in the car. We can go put yours in now if you want." Ino offered. 

"All right then." TenTen said. She and Ino walked out of the room, with Sakura close behind them. 

**With Naruto, Hinata, Neji, and Hiashi**

"Well, Naruto." The doctor said, looking at his X-rays. "It appears that you're leg should be fine. You're knee was slightly out of place, which was the cause of the swelling there. We've already fixed that." The doctor glanced at Hiashi at this, who nodded and motioned for the doctor to continue. "His arm, however, is another story. It's broken in two places, and will require a cast. All in all, I wouldn't do too much on your leg for about two weeks at the least. No hard running, sports, etcetera. With your arm, you won't be able to participate in basketball and not much else that requires the use of your arm." Naruto's face fell at this. He and his friend's had made the basketball team, but so far had only had practices. The Konoha High basketball season didn't start until after Christmas. At the least, it would be over a month before he could play. 

"So, how long will I have the cast?" Naruto asked. 

"It depends on how fast your arm heals. You'll have to come back monthly for check-ups, and we'll decide how long it should be after your next visit." The doctor said. 

Naruto sighed. "Fine." He wasn't too happy about having to have a cast in the first place, but having to wait a month to find out when it was coming off was crazy. 

"If you'll come with me, we'll get that cast on and have you out of here in a jiffy." The doctor said, leaving the room and motioning for Naruto to follow him. Naruto got up and slowly trudged after the doctor. 

**With Sakura, Ino, TenTen, Sasuke, and Shikamaru**

Sakura jumped when TenTen's cell phone rang. 

"Hello?"

'_Hey.'_

"How's Naruto?"

'_Good. His arm is broken.'_

"What about his leg?" 

'_He dislocated his knee, they fixed it, and it should be fully healed in two weeks.' _

"Ok. I'll let everyone know. Where are you now?" 

'_On our way to Ino's.' _

"Ok, I'll see you in a little bit." 

'_Hn.'_

TenTen hung up the phone, and looked at her friends. "He has a broken arm." 

"What about his leg?" Sakura asked her.

"It's fine. His knee was dislocated or something like that, but they fixed it. He's supposed to stay off of it for two weeks, though." TenTen explained. 

Sasuke smirked. "Good luck with that one. There's no way the dobe is going to stay off of his leg when he could be snowboarding." 

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "But Sasuke's right."

"We'll just have to help Hinata keep him off of the slopes. I'm sure there's plenty that they can do that doesn't involve being on the slopes." Sakura said, looking towards Ino for confirmation on this. 

"Yea, there should be. There are a lot of special events going on this week." Ino said. 

"Right." Sasuke said. "And you're going to get Naruto to participate in those over hitting the slopes?"

Sakura and Ino nodded vigorously. 

"Good luck with that." Shikamaru said. 

"We won't need luck." Ino said, grinning. She had a few ideas to keep Naruto off the slopes herself. And a few of them depended on Hinata's willingness to help keep her boyfriend off the slopes. To Ino, this would be a piece of cake. 

"Well, guys…"TenTen started, but was cut off by the doorbell ringing. 

Ino and Sakura jumped up at the same time, and shouted, "They're here!" They both rushed to the door to greet them. 

A/N: ok, they should leave on their trip next chapter. And arrive at the resort. Not much to say about this chapter, except that I didn't want Naruto's leg broken, because he'll probably try a lot more to get on the slopes with his leg this way. Also, I never really wrote about tryouts for sports and stuff, because I had other things to focus on. Now I'm bringing it back in. Everyone made the team that they were going out for. =) Reviews are loved! 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Ino and Sakura jumped up at the same time, and shouted, "They're here!" They both rushed to the door to greet them.

"Hey, guys." Naruto said as he walked in, limping slightly on his injured leg. His arm was wrapped in a navy blue cast. Hinata was right behind him, watching his every step, making sure he didn't fall. It was obvious that he'd walked in by himself after much protest. Neji followed behind Hinata, having a bored expression on his face.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked Naruto, looking at his arm and leg with a bit of concern. For her community service, she volunteered at the hospital, and she'd dealt with the patients who had broken bones, basically helping to put the cast on. Few volunteers were allowed to help with that, but since Sakura had been volunteering for so long, she was allowed.

"I'm fine, Sakura. I don't get why you guys are so worried." Naruto said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "Naruto, you were crushed by a giant Christmas tree, anyone but you would be at least a little freaked out by that."

"Well, I'm not, and I'm fine. So stop asking." Naruto said.

"Fine." Sakura said, as Ino nodded reluctantly in agreement with Sakura.

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "Now is everyone ready to leave? I can't wait to hit the slopes!"

"Naruto," Hinata said quietly, "you know the doctor said to keep off your leg for a few weeks."

"Aw, what does he know, Hinata?" Naruto asked. "Like I said, I'm perfectly fine. Now let's hit the road!"

Hinata looked pleadingly at her friends, transmitting her thoughts of needing help with Naruto this week. They smiled back at her.

"Alright." Ino said. "Come on, we're late enough as it is. Let's get started on our week of fun and relaxation!" The girls laughed at Ino, who was obviously quoting her father's resort, as they walked towards the front door, their boyfriends not far behind them.

**A few hours Later, at the Resort **

Two girls stood behind the front desk, wearing name tags on their shirts that labeled them as employees.

"Did you here Ino's coming up for a week?" One girl, who had short, curly brown hair and bright blue eyes asked her friend. She was wearing a hot pink sweater, with a wool, black and white, plaid miniskirt. She had on black tights underneath of it, and black high-heeled boots that came up to her knees.

"Ya, she e-mailed me to tell me." The other girl replied. She had long black hair, and pretty purple colored eyes. She was wearing a pink Chinese style top, and a pair of capris and flip flops, which she wore despite the cold weather.

"Same here." The first girl replied. "She said she's bringing a bunch of her friends up."

"Ya, she had me arrange different colored ski and snowboarding equipment up in their rooms." The second girl said.

"Come to think of it," The first girl said, "they should have been here a few hours ago. I hope everything's alright."

"I'm sure it is." The second girl replied. Their conversation was interrupted by someone shouting at them.

"Meghan, Mitsuki!" Both girls turned their heads to find Ino walking towards them, with a group of people at her side.

"Hey, Ino!" The first girl, Meghan, replied.

"Hiya!" Mitsuki, the second girl replied.

"I wanted to introduce you guys to every one before we check in." Ino explained.

Meghan and Mitsuki scanned the group of friends that Ino had brought with her. There were seven people not including their friend.

"Well, this is Sakura." Ino said, pointing to a pink-haired girl who smiled and waved at them. "And this is Hinata." Ino pointed to a girl with lavender colored eyes, who smiled nervously at them and said. "Um, hello."

"And this is TenTen." Ino pointed to a girl with two buns on her head, who waved with a big grin on her face. "Now for the guys." Ino said. "The blonde haired guy is Naruto, the guy with the bluish black hair is Sasuke, the guy with the long brown hair is Neji, and this" Ino said, pulling Shikamaru out from behind her, "is Shikamaru."

"Ok, then. Hi everyone." Meghan said.

"Ya, hey." Mitsuki said. She reached under the desk and pulled out four card keys, while Meghan did the same.

"The guys can come down here to check in." Meghan said, as she fanned out the four card keys.

"And the girls can come over here." Mitsuki said, grinning. She pulled over some papers, and handed each girl a card key. "These are the keys that allow you to get into your rooms. I just need Ino to sign here, and we're good." Ino nodded and took the pen Mitsuki handed her, and signed on the dotted line. When the girls glanced down the counter, they saw that Meghan was doing a similar procedure with the guys.

"Here you go." Meghan said, holding out the card keys for the guys to grab. "These let you in your room. If you loose them, you need to come see the front desk, so we can issue new card keys to everyone. We'll have to change the magnetic code on your lock, so that way if someone else finds the card they can't break into your room. Ino is signing the papers for your room as well, so any questions?"

"Not really." Shikamaru replied lazily.

"Ok then. Your room is room number 401. The girls' room number is 400. You guys have the only two rooms on floor 4. There are five floors. Ground level, floor 1, floor 2, floor 3, and floor 4. There's also a basement, which has an arcade, and spa in it. It also has a few shops down there, and a restaurant." Meghan explained.

"Does the restaurant serve ramen?" Naruto asked, looking concerned. His casted arm hung limply at his side.

Meghan smiled at him, "Ya, it does. A few different kinds."

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping in the air, and pumping his good fist in the air.

"Naruto," Shikamaru started to warn, but was too late.

"Naruto! Don't jump like that! You're supposed to be resting your knee!" Ino shouted at him. Naruto immediately stopped jumping and hid behind Shikamaru. He didn't want to face the wrath of Ino. "Now come on you guys, we're going up to our rooms. I'll see you guys later." Ino said, waving to Mitsuki and Meghan.

As soon as they had left, another group of people came to check in, this time, though, there were only three of them.

A/N: ok, so I'm starting to introduce more OC's as the hotel staff. Of course Ino knows most of them, since they've been working there since the resort opened. I really don't like having to put so many OC's in the story, but I'm going to try to keep the number down to three or four if possible. I already have all of the characters lined up. Well, reviews are loved!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

As soon as they had left, another group of people came to check in, this time, though, there were only three of them.

"Hello, can I help you?" Mitsuki asked cheerfully.

"We're here to check-in." Said the girl in the group.

"Last name please?" Meghan asked, already flipping through the reservations binder.

"Sabaku." The girl stated.

"Ok, I found it." Meghan said, handing the papers to Mitsuki.

"If you could sign here, please?" Mitsuki asked the girl, while looking at the two boys behind her. Meghan noticed this, and followed her gaze to the redheaded boy. She smiled, knowing just what Mitsuki was thinking.

"Here you go." The blonde said, pushing the paper back towards Mitsuki.

"Ok, well, first off, here are your card keys." Mitsuki said, fanning out three keys. The guys both stepped forward and reached out for the keys. Mitsuki allowed them to take them. "Your room is on floor 3, and the number is 305. There are five floors. Ground level, floor 1, floor 2, floor 3, and floor 4. In addition, there's a basement. In the basement is an arcade, a spa, and some shops, along with the restaurant. Any questions?"

"Nope." The girl said.

"Ok then, we'll be seeing you around." Mitsuki said, flashing a smile at the red head.

"Ok then, bye." The blonde said, turning to the two boys behind her.

As they walked off, Mitsuki and Meghan heard the brown haired guy whisper to the red headed guy, "Hey, Gaara, looks like she has a thing for you."

"Can it, Kankuro." Temari said. "We're here to enjoy a nice family vacation. So leave Gaara alone." Gaara just walked along, looking undisturbed and stoic.

"So, Meghan, what do you think of him?" Mitsuki asked, pointing towards Gaara.

"He's cute, and looks like your type." Meghan said.

"You saw through me that fast? Geez, you know me too well." Mitsuki said.

"We do spend every day together." Meghan pointed out.

"True." Mitsuki sighed.

Meghan just laughed lightly at this. "Next shift should be here soon. Wanna take our break?"

"Sure. Or, we could make sure that there are no problems on floor 3."Mitsuki said with a scheming grin.

"And this is why you shouldn't work front desk." Meghan sighed. She looked up as the next shift came to take over. "Hey, Kara."

"Hey guys." Kara replied. She had dark purple hair and emerald green eyes. "I'll take the next shift."

"Thanks." Meghan said. "We've had two parties check in. One was Ino's, and the other was the Sabaku party. Anyone else in the book hasn't come yet." Kara nodded as Meghan and Mitsuki took off, Mitsuki dragging her towards the third floor.

**With the Girls (Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and TenTen)**

"Wow, Ino, this room looks great." Sakura said. She had just walked out of her private bedroom, which was a navy blue, and walked into the living area.

"You really think so?" Ino asked. The room she was staying in was a forest green color. Hinata was in a pale orange room, and TenTen's room was chocolate brown.

"I could totally live here." Sakura said, sinking down into the couch.

"Well, I'm glad that you like it. It took forever to get everything perfect." Ino said. She flopped down in a dome chair hanging from the ceiling.

"Of course, it's you." Sakura said. "If one details out of place you freak."

"So true." TenTen said. Hinata just shook her head.

"These rooms were made to be like big apartments." Ino said. "That's why two of them take up the whole floor. They're reserved for important guests, like us."

"I can see why." Sakura said. The rooms could definitely pass for living spaces, with the large bathroom, and the huge closets in each girl's room. The kitchen and living areas were also amazing. "So, what's your game plan?"

"Well, have you guys gone into your closets yet?" Ino asked, a devilish grin on her face.

"Not yet." Sakura said, as Hinata and TenTen shook their heads no.

"Well, all your supplies for the week are in there. And all your gear is a certain color." Ino said. "Sakura, you're pink, Hinata, you're lavender, TenTen you're red, and I'm blue."

"Seriously?" Sakura asked.

"Mmhm." Ino replied. "I got everyone's favorite colors for them. The guys have blue, green, orange, and brown. I'm sure you can guess whose is whose."

"Ya, just a little obvious." TenTen said.

"So I was thinking that since tomorrow's Christmas, we'd spend the day together, just hanging out. No slopes though, because I have something special planned for tomorrow night. I'm sure you'll hear about it sometime. Until then, my lips are sealed." Ino said, grinning.

"So where should we put everyone's presents?" Hinata asked.

"Hmm?" Ino said as she thought. "There should be a tree in the guys' room, but knowing Naruto, presents in there aren't probably the best idea. I guess we'll put them in here, hold on, let me check something." Ino pulled out her phone, scrolled through her contacts and hit send.

'_Hello?'_

"Hey Meghan, I had a quick question." Ino said.

'_Shoot.' _

"I was wondering if there were any extra Christmas trees laying around anywhere?" Ino asked.

'_I think so. There should be one in the storage closet in the basement.' _

"Think you could help us get our hands on it?"

'_Sure thing. When and where?'_

"Now, the closet." Ino said.

'_Kay. Mitsuki and I will meet ya there.' _

"We're going to get a Christmas tree." Ino announced to her friends. "There's a spare artificial one. Meghan and Mitsuki are going to help us get it out."

"Should we get the guys to help us?" Hinata asked.

"Nah, let's surprise them." Ino said. "Come on, I know where we're going."

"Ok, let me grab my phone really quickly." Sakura said, ducking back into her room and snagging up her phone. She shoved it in her pocket, and followed Ino out the door.

A/N: Ok, I'm so sorry I'm a day late with the update. I have to write a creative writing paper for my geometry class, and my inspiration has been zapped. Basically, I had the worst time writing this chapter. Feedback is greatly appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Ok, let me grab my phone really quickly." Sakura said, ducking back into her room and snagging up her phone. She shoved it in her pocket, and followed Ino out the door.

**With Mitsuki and Meghan **

"Come on, Daniel." Mitsuki said. "You're not walking fast enough!"

"Mitsuki," Meghan sighed, "we're going to get there, you don't have to run." Mitsuki had run to get Daniel, who also worked at the resort, to help the girls move the tree to Ino's room. Daniel was their age, and had brown hair and hazel eyes. He was currently wearing a pair of jeans, with a white and black shirt on.

"Can we walk, Mitsuki?" Daniel asked the girl who was tugging at his arm, trying to pull him towards the elevator.

"I guess." Mitsuki said, sounding frustrated. She wanted to hurry up with the tree so she could go back to her break.

The elevator stopped in front of them, and they entered, finding Ino and some of her friends inside.

"Hey guys." Ino said, smiling at her friends. She then looked at Daniel questioningly.

"Oh, this is Daniel." Meghan said. "He works here too, but he was hired after you came last time. He's going to help us with the tree."

"Ok." Ino said. She smiled at Daniel. "Well, I'm Ino, the owner's daughter, and these are my friends, Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata." Ino pointed to each of the girls as she spoke. They each said their respective hellos before the elevator reached the level they were going to.

"Follow me!" said an eager Mitsuki, who practically raced down the hall in the direction of the closet.

"Sorry about her." Meghan said. "She had some sugar earlier." Ino nodded knowingly. Mitsuki plus sugar wasn't the best idea in the world.

They walked down he hallway at a slower pace than Mitsuki, and when they arrived at the closet, they found Mitsuki already inside, rummaging around. "What are you doing, Mitsuki?" Sakura asked her.

"I'm just trying to see where the extra decorations are. I know there's some ornaments and stuff in here somewhere." Mitsuki replied, popping up with some tinsel in her hair.

"I think you found it." TenTen said with a small laugh.

"Ya, it's all right here." Mitsuki said, pulling out two boxes. "Dan, the tree is over there. I'll give them these boxes than help you out with it."

"Alright." Daniel said, walking over to size up the box. It wasn't too big, so he and Mitsuki should be able to carry it without much trouble. Mitsuki handed one bow to Meghan, and the other to Ino, and then walked back over to help Daniel with the tree. "Mitsuki, you go down that end. You're going to have to tell me where I'm walking, because I'm going to be going backwards, ok?"

"Sure thing!" Mitsuki said, leaning over to pick up her end of the box. Daniel did the same, and they had it moving in a few minutes.

"Can someone hit the button on the elevator?" Daniel asked.

"Yes." Hinata replied, pressing the button. When the doors opened, TenTen and Hinata went into the elevator first, and the Mitsuki and Daniel entered with the tree.

"I don't think we're going to fit." Ino said, looking at Sakura and Meghan. "You guys go ahead, and we'll take the next elevator up, ok?"

"Sure thing." Mitsuki said as the doors closed. Ino heard some thumping noises and an, "Ow, Mitsuki!" through the doors before the elevator could be heard going up. Just then, Sakura's phone started going off.

"Hello?" Sakura said after pulling it out of her pocket with a bit of difficulty.

'_Hey, we're getting ready to get some food. Do you guys want to come?' _Sasuke's voice came through the phone.

"Um, no thanks." Sakura said, glancing at Ino. She knew her friend wanted to surprise the guys with the tree, and if they left the room around now, they'd definitely see Daniel and Mitsuki with the box. "It's Sasuke." Sakura mouthed to Ino. "He wants u to go to dinner."

"Keep him in the room for five more minutes." Ino mouthed back.

"What are you guys going to get?" Sakura asked.

'_We were going to run down to the restaurant and get something to go. Do you want us to pick something up for you guys?' _

"We're good, thanks, though. We're going to finish unpacking, and rest for a little bit longer. We'll probably watch some t.v. and stuff."

'_Hn. We'll come join you then.'_

"You probably wouldn't want to. We wanted to watch some soap operas and stuff." Sakura said quickly.

'_Ok then. I'll talk to you later.' _

"Bye. Love you."

'_Hn. Same.' _

"I hope they made it in by now." Meghan said as Sakura hung up her phone.

"All we can do is hope." Ino said, hitting the button to call the elevator. When it came, they stepped inside and quickly hit their floor number. When they arrived on their floor, they went straight to their room, with Sakura opening the door. When they stepped inside, they saw Daniel laying on the couch, with a worried Mitsuki over him, while Hinata fixed an ice pack.

"Um, what happened?" Meghan asked, a little bit afraid to do so.

"Um, well," Hinata said, "Mitsuki forgot to tell Daniel about the step right there" Hinata pointed to the step down into the living area, "and he fell and hit his head on the floor."

"I'm really sorry!" Mitsuki said. "I completely forgot it was there!"

"It's ok, Mitsuki." Daniel said as TenTen handed him the ice to hold on his head. "I'll be fine after a few minutes."

"Ok, then." Mitsuki said.

"So," Ino started, "who wants to help me set up the tree?" Sakura and TenTen stood up.

"We'll help." TenTen offered. She walked over and opened the box to find the base of the tree. She pulled it out and set it in the corner. "I think this is a good place for it, right?"

"Perfect." Ino replied with a smile.

A/N: Ok, guys, sorry for the late update. I haven't had much time to type, and I actually just finished this a few minutes ago. And now I must rant. This morning, I went with my dad to pass out picture forms for his soccer teams (he coaches 3, 2 are my sisters, plus one extra team), and during my little sister's game, it started pouring, accompanied by lightning and thunder. My sister and I ran to his truck (which was all the way across the park) and waited for him to come for 10 minutes, but he never showed up. And people were looking at us like we were creatures to take pity on. So my sister and I ran to the concessions stand, and guess what? My dad was in there with all the coaches and refs! He'd completely forgotten about my sister and I. Needless to say, we were soaking wet, and furious. One of the refs shooed us inside to dry off, but not 5 minutes later, the sun came back out. Well, now that I'm done with my ranting, reviews are loved! )


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Perfect." Ino replied with a smile.

About an hour and a few tinsel fights later, the girls all stood back to admire their work. Daniel had left soon after putting the top branches on the tree after recovering from his head injury, claiming that he was fine with missing the decorations part. Meghan and Mitsuki had opted to stay, because since they were helping the guests, this would be considered work, and not their break. All that was left to do was place the star on top of the tree. Mitsuki and Meghan decided to leave, finally deciding to take their break for the day.

As soon as Ino had picked it up from the box, the girls heard loud banging from the door.

"Hinata?" They heard Naruto. "What are you guys doing? You've been in there for hours."

Hinata looked at her friends. "Should we let them in?" She asked quietly.

"I don't see why not, we're practically done anyways." Ino said with a shrug.

"Okay." Hinata said, walking through the room towards the door of their suite. She opened it up to find the four guys standing there. "Come in." She said. She turned around and walked back into the living room, with the boys right behind her.

"Woah!" Naruto said when he walked in. "We have a tree in our room, but it's so small compared to this!"

"We just put this one up, Naruto." Sakura explained.

"Ino had Mitsuki and Meghan track this down for us so we could put all of our presents under it for tomorrow. Sorry, Naruto, we just don't trust you with a bunch of presents." TenTen explained.

"Darn." Naruto said. "Figures. You guys know me too well already."

"It's not that hard to figure you out, dobe." Sasuke said.

"Be quite, teme!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Do you want us to bring our presents over here, then?" Neji asked.

"That would be great, Neji." Ino said. Neji nodded.

"We'll go get them later." Sasuke said as he sat down on the couch.

"Ok." Ino said. She then looked at the top of the tree. "Hey, Shikamaru?"

"Yes, Ino?" Shikamaru replied. She was using that tone that meant that she wanted something.

"Can you put the start on the top, pretty please?" Ino asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Fine." Shikamaru said, with a muttered troublesome under his breath. He walked slowly over to Ino, and took the star from her, then stepped up onto the step stool by the tree, while Ino held it steady because she didn't want him to fall. He placed the star securely at the top, and then quickly stepped down.

"Thank you so much!" Ino exclaimed hugging him and giving him a quick kiss for his efforts.

Shikamaru just nodded.

"So are you hungry now?" Sasuke asked Sakura who was currently curled up next to him on the couch.

"Mm, not really." She replied. "Just tired." Sasuke wrapped his arm around her, pulling her as close as she could be.

"So, guys." Ino said. "Has anyone seen any signs around the hotel?" She was surprised that her surprise had lasted this long. She knew that the signs had been up for a week at least. She'd asked her father about her idea as soon as they'd had their reservations made and she was out of earshot of her friends.

"No." Sakura replied sleepily, then practically bolted out of Sasuke's arms. "Wait! Yes! That's what you've been planning, isn't it!"

Ino just laughed at Sakura's reaction. "Yup. I was wondering who would see it first."

"Well, just tell everyone else." Sakura said, snuggling back up to Sasuke, who didn't look the least bit startled by Sakura's earlier reaction.

"Well, I suppose I will." Ino said. "And before I say anything, it is mandatory, for all of you! I talked to my dad, and we're going to hold the first annual Christmas Ball here at the resort! It's going to be held in our honor. That's why it's mandatory."

"Is that why you had us bring formal clothes?" Hinata asked.

"Yup." Ino said with a grin. "I did all of the planning, and we'll even be announced in the ballroom as we walk in."

"Wow." TenTen said. She should've guessed Ino had this up her sleeve. "So is this a select guest list, or what?"

"Well, everyone in the resort is invited, including the staff. We've hired a DJ because daddy didn't want to deal with extra expenses for a band on Christmas." Ino explained.

"So what did Itachi have to do with this?" Sasuke asked, remembering his brother saying something about being in with Ino on a surprise.

"Oh, you'll see." Ino said, a dangerous smile playing at her lips. She knew that this bit of information would drive emotionless Sasuke crazy, even if he didn't show it, but he was just going to have to wait and see.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. _'I'll figure this out.' _

"Itachi?" Sakura said sleepily. "Is he coming tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about it Sakura." Sasuke said. Sakura just nodded and laid her head on Sasuke's shoulder and closed her eyes. She was more worn out than she had thought she would be.

"So everyone has formal clothes, right?" Ino asked. Her friends nodded. Ino had been adamant that they bring them, and now they all knew why.

"Good. The dance starts at eight, but we'll make out entrance at eight o' five, and the DJ will announce us." Ino said. "I think that's all that's important now. I guess tomorrow morning you guys will come over here after you wake up."

"Sure we will." Naruto replied happily. "We'll go get the presents now, right guys?"

Naruto got up and bounced out of the room, with the other three guys following him.

Ino observed and spoke to Hinata, "That can't be good for his knee."

Hinata shook her head. "He's just not going to listen. He's too excited right now."

The other girls sighed as the boys started carrying packages in and placing them under the tree.

A/N: Please don't kill me for such a late update! My week has been hectic! Thursday, I woke up at the crack of dawn to go see the Pope give his Mass in D.C. it was so amazing to be there and actually see him. Then, last night, I had my spring formal, which is my school's equivalent of prom for the freshmen and sophomores. We even have our own court. The best thing was…I got voted Spring Formal Queen! You guys have no clue how shocked I was. Two of my friends nominated me in their advisory, and I never thought I'd even end up on the ballot, but I did. And then I never thought that I'd get chosen, because the other two girls are really popular. But I guess I was wrong, as my friends told me all day Friday and Saturday. Well, I'm sorry again for the late update, and please review! )


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The other girls sighed as the boys started carrying packages in and placing them under the tree.

"Remember, we're trusting you not to peek now." Naruto said teasingly.

"Oh, of course!" Sakura said in an over exaggerated tone. "We'd never do that."

"That's why the presents are double wrapped." Sasuke said.

"Come on, Sasuke." Ino said with an eye roll. "How immature do you think we are?"

"Hn." Sasuke replied. "Immature enough to try to peek at presents."

Ino gave him a light glare at this statement, and then turned to survey the growing pile under the tree. The girls had started adding their presents to the guys. Ino had never before realized how many gifts they gave each other until now. She smiled lightly as she placed four small boxes under the tree. There was one with each of the other girls' names on it, but one for her too. She didn't want to risk anyone seeing hers before they saw their own, so she figured, why not wrap hers up too? So she had. She hadn't really known what to get Shikamaru, but had figured out some things that she thought would work out fine.

Sakura looked up from where she was on the couch. Sasuke had made his way back over to her, and she was now lying her head on his shoulder now. "You know guys, we should really go to bed." She stifled a yawn as she said this.

"Scared Santa won't come if you don't get to bed?" Sasuke teased her.

"Exactly." Sakura said again. The girls grinned at their friend. Sakura was definitely the most imaginative out of all the girls, so her belief in Holiday characters had never really dispelled.

Sasuke 'Hned' and picked his girlfriend up bridal style, and carried her towards her room. "I'm going to put Sakura in bed." Sasuke said.

Ino nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow morning." She said to Shikamaru as she walked up and hugged him, kissing him lightly as she did so.

"I guess you will." Shikamaru said. Sasuke came out of Sakura's room, and looked towards his friends.

"I'm going to bed now." He stated. "Sakura will probably be calling my cell phone at 6 a.m. tomorrow."

"Five thirty, actually." Ino said matter of factly.

"I don't even want to know why you know that." Sasuke said as he left the room. "But in that case, don't wake me up when you come in."

Ino laughed as Sasuke left the room, while TenTen and Hinata just grinned. Sakura was always up at the crack of dawn on Christmas Morning, and this year poor Sasuke would be the one to deal with her.

"I guess we should go too, then." Neji said. TenTen nodded and hugged Neji goodnight.

"I'll se you in the morning." She mumbled into his chest.

His only reply was an 'Hn,' but TenTen knew that it meant 'goodnight.'

"goodnight, Naruto." Hinata said, hugging her boyfriend. "Please try to take it easy on yourself. I really don't want anything to happen to you."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to worry, Hinata?" Naruto asked her with that grin on his face. "I'm totally fine. The doctor has no clue what he was talking about. Now I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that he kissed her lightly then left the room. Hinata sighed. Keeping Naruto out of trouble was going to be harder than she thought.

**The Next Morning**

Sakura woke up and peeked at her clock. It was only 5:15. The deal she made with her friends was that she wouldn't get up on Christmas morning before 5:30. She was so excited that she just couldn't go back to sleep. And she knew as soon as the clock turned to 5:30 exactly who she was calling. Her friends would probably be a bit relieved that she would wake Sasuke up first. For as long as she could remember, she had always called her friends at exactly 5:30 on Christmas morning to wish them Merry Christmas.

Normally, Sakura wasn't one to wake up early. She normally slept until ten unless there was an exciting day ahead of her. So of course she woke up early on Christmas. Sakura peeked at the clock again, finding it to read 5:20. She sighed, and she silently crawled out of bed and into the room with the Christmas tree. Her eyes widened as she found even more presents than had been there the night before, a pile each with one of the eight teenagers' names stuck to one gift at the front.

Sakura squealed in delight, and quickly covered her mouth before checking the time on her cell phone yet again. 5:30.

She quickly pressed speed dial number four, and waited as the phone rang. As soon as she heard a sleepy 'hello' from the other side she exclaimed, "Merry Christmas, Sasuke!"

"How did I know Ino was gonna be right?" Sasuke mumbled.

"Did she tell you about our deal? I would've called you before, but I decided to stick to the rule in case I accidentally woke one of the girls up." Sakura chattered excitedly.

"Ok, Sakura. I'll meet you in the hall in 20 minutes." Sasuke said. He really didn't even need that long to get ready, but he figured he could rest for a little bit before taking Sakura away from the rooms with the sleeping girls. Ino would probably kill him if he let Sakura wake him up at this hour.

"Ok. I'll get ready and meet you out there!" Sakura said happily as she hung up her phone.

'_How can anyone be this cheerful at 5:30 in the morning?' _Sasuke wondered to himself. He quickly grabbed a shirt and some pant, pulled them on, and laid down to close his eyes for a few more minutes, trusting the alarm on his phone to wake him up in fifteen minutes.

Sakura ran into her room and grabbed the black woolen mini-skirt that she had brought with her, and pulled on her red satin blouse with it. She quickly slipped into her red ballerina flats and slipped out the door to wait for Sasuke in the hall.

A/N: ok, lame chapter, I know, but I wasn't exactly sure how o get the day started. So I made Sakura like my sister on Christmas morning, waking everyone up as soon as her eyes open. Next chapter they'll probably open presents, then get ready for their Christmas Ball. Well, I guess that's really all right now. Reviews are loved!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura ran into her room and grabbed the black woolen mini-skirt that she had brought with her, and pulled on her red satin blouse with it. She quickly slipped into her red ballerina flats and slipped out the door to wait for Sasuke in the hall.

Sasuke's phone alarm went off, waking him from his extremely short trip back to dreamland. He walked towards the door of his room, then out through the lobby-like area to the door, being careful not to stumble into things and wake his friends up.

"How long have you been waiting?" he asked as he spotted Sakura at the door, carefully shutting it behind him.

"Ten minutes." She replied. Sasuke just looked at his girlfriend. Any other day, it would have taken her at least half an hour to get ready.

"Let's see if anything downstairs is open." Sasuke said with a sigh, taking Sakura's hand and walking towards the elevator.

"I could really go for some coffee." Sakura said.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. _'She does not need coffee. She's already bouncing off the walls.' _He thought.

He pressed the basement button, and leaned against the rail as the elevator started its descent, closing his eyes as well. All too soon, though, he felt an impatient tug on his arm, and opened his eyes to follow Sakura out of the elevator.

"What's open?" he asked, since Sakura was apparently leading him somewhere.

"I think the little café should be." Sakura said, heading past the few shops, and towards the café. When they got there, they weren't disappointed to find it open.

"Merry Christmas!" Mitsuki shouted as the couple came inside.

"Same to you, Mitsuki." Sakura replied. "What's wrong with Meghan?" She asked, observing Meghan sitting in a chair, head down on a table.

"She's just tired." Mitsuki said nonchalantly. "She wasn't too happy that I woke her up early this morning to get here in time to open up. We volunteered for first shift so we have time to get ready for the ball."

"She's not the only one." Sasuke mumbled upon hearing the words 'she's tired.' "Do you have anything with extra caffeine, Mitsuki?"

"Of course!" Mitsuki exclaimed, rushing to fix the drink for Sasuke.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. "Sakura, I'm going to sit down with Meghan."

"Ok, I'll get our drinks and be right over." Sakura said happily, Sasuke just nodded, and walked over to where Meghan was sleeping, and rested his head on his arms, closing his eyes as well.

"So, Mitsuki, are you excited about the ball tonight?" Sakura asked her as she made her drink.

"Ya, I am." Mitsuki said with a light blush, thinking of the red-headed guest who had been at the front desk the previous day.

"Oo, you're blushing!" Sakura squealed. "Who are you thinking about?"

"Um, what are you talking about?" Mitsuki asked, her blush getting deeper.

"Come on Mitsuki, just tell me. It's not like those two are even awake right now." Sakura said, motioning her thumb in the direction of Sasuke and Meghan, who were currently sleeping.

"Well, there's this guest that arrived yesterday, just after you guys. He's really cute, and his name is Gaara. I really don't know much about him, but I'm hoping he'll be there tonight." Mitsuki confessed.

"Don't worry, he will be." Sakura said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?" Mitsuki asked, her brow furrowed.

"Oh, trust me, I always am." Sakura said. Her mind was whizzing to life with schemes that she hadn't been able to use since she and her friends had gotten boyfriends.

"Ok, then." Mitsuki said happily. Just then, someone else entered the café. Mitsuki looked up and froze in the middle of handing Sakura the two coffee cups.

Sakura looked behind her and smiled. _'That must be him.'_ She thought. Indeed, Gaara had just walked into the shop. "Well, I'll go over and give Sasuke his coffee now." Sakura said. "You might want to give Meghan something with extra caffeine in it later, too." She then turned towards the table and sat down next to Meghan and Sasuke, giving herself a perfect view of Mitsuki at the counter.

"Um, hi, can I help you?" Mitsuki asked.

"I'd like a regular coffee." He replied.

"Ok, then." Mitsuki said, grinning at him. "You know, it's pretty early to be up." Mitsuki commented as she fixed the drink.

"I'm always up this early." Gaara replied.

"Wow, that must take some getting used to." Mitsuki remarked.

"Not really. And you're up pretty early yourself." Gaara replied.

"I volunteered for first shift so I could get ready for tonight. So, um, are you going to the dance tonight?" Mitsuki asked.

"My sister has decided to drag me there, so yes." He replied.

"I guess I'll see you there, then." Mitsuki said, accepting the money that Gaara handed her as she handed him his coffee.

"Hn. I guess so." He replied. Mitsuki smiled at him one last time before he turned around and left the café. As soon as she left, she ran over to Sakura who had been watching the whole thing.

"He's coming tonight!" Mitsuki exclaimed happily. "And he talked to me!"

"That's great, Mitsuki." Sakura replied with a smile, although she was a bit disappointed that she hadn't been able to put a plan in action. "Now, I need to get Sasuke to drink this." She then shook Sasuke lightly, trying to wake him up, while Mitsuki went back to the counter, getting ready to make Meghan the same drink that she had made for Sasuke, all the while thinking about Gaara. She then brought it over to Meghan and shoved it in her face.

"Drink up, Meghan!" Mitsuki exclaimed. "It's wake-up time!" Meghan groaned, and looked at the cup in front of her, grabbing it and taking a sip.

"Well, we're going to be going now." Sakura said. "We'll see you guys tonight." Sasuke just followed Sakura, sipping his much needed caffeine loaded coffee.

A/N: ok, I am sooo sorry for the late update! I've been so busy this weekend it isn't even funny, and haven't had any time to put the finishing touches on the chapter. Again, sorry! Well, not much here, but next chapter everyone should wake up and exchange gifts. Remember, reviews are loved!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor anything else that I shouldn't own!

"Well, we're going to be going now." Sakura said. "We'll see you guys tonight." Sasuke just followed Sakura, sipping his much needed caffeine loaded coffee.

"Do you think we can wake the others up now, Sasuke?" Sakura asked as they strolled by the other stores, Sakura glancing in the windows.

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he glanced at his phone. "It's 6 a.m."

"So?" Sakura asked. She had let her friends sleep an extra half hour than normal on Christmas.

"Let's just walk a little bit more." Sasuke replied, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Fine." Sakura sighed.

**An Hour Later**

"Saasuukkee." Sakura whined. They'd been walking around for an hour, and she wanted to go wake everyone up.

"Fine." Sasuke replied. He couldn't keep Sakura happy any longer just wandering around the basement. Only a few stores had opened at six thirty, and she'd quickly looked through them and decided that she couldn't go shopping without her friends' help.

"Really?" Sakura asked her eyes sparking to life. Sasuke soon realized that she hadn't been expecting a yes, but once she'd grabbed his hand and dragged him to the elevator, he decided he wasn't going to try to stop her.

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he was dragged into the elevator.

"This thing seems to be going so slow." Sakura said with a sigh as the elevator slowly crept upwards towards their floor. Sasuke didn't bother to reply as the elevator was soon on their floor. "Go wake up the guys." Sakura said, pointing Sasuke to his room. She went into her room shouting 'Merry Christmas' so loud that Sasuke was sure he wouldn't even need to wake up his friends.

About twenty minutes later, everyone was assembled in the girls' hotel room, seated around the presents that were there.

"Who's ready to open presents?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, mine first!" Ino exclaimed. "Here, these are for you guys." Ino handed each of the girls their little gift bag, and set hers in her lap. "Open them on three, ok?"

"Gotcha." Sakura replied while TenTen and Hinata nodded. TenTen was sitting on the floor, leaning against Neji's legs, looking extremely tired.

"One, two, three!" Ino said, as the girls each reached into their bags and pulled out a box. They opened the small boxes and pulled out white-gold charm bracelets, with the letters T, H,I,S dangling from them.

"Oh my gosh!" Sakura exclaimed, immediately clasping it on her wrist. "Ino, these are so cute!"

"Yes, they're incredible." Hinata replied.

"Thanks, Ino!" TenTen said, smiling happily as she had Neji clasp the bracelet on her wrist for her. She was too tired to do it herself.

"Well, my present is next, then." Sakura said. She too pulled out four little bags, so that there was one for herself as well. She handed them to her friends and watched as they opened them. "I originally thought matching necklaces, but I think they'd look great on the bracelets." Sakura explained as the girls held up white gold heart charms that said "BFFL" on them, with some small diamonds around the letters.

"Freaky weird that our gifts go together so well, Forehead." Ino said.

"I know, Pig." Sakura replied with a grin. She had quickly hooked the charm onto the bracelet using the jump ring that was attached to it.

"Well, I guess I'll give my gifts to you guys next," Hinata said. She stood up from where she'd been sitting next to Naruto, and went next to the tree and pulled out three boxes. She handed one to each of her friends then sat back down with Naruto putting his arm around her.

"Hinata, this is so cute!" Ino exclaimed as she pulled out a small designer handbag with her initials in the lower right corner. Ino's bag was a baby blue, Sakura's bag was pink, and TenTen's bag was lime green. Hinata had a purple one in her suitcase. Each one had their initials done like Ino's.

"I agree totally." Sakura said, opening her bag to count pockets and pull the paper out.

TenTen nodded in agreement, getting up to find her presents behind the tree. She reappeared and handed each of her friends a small package.

"Are you serious?!" Ino exclaimed, pulling out a small slip of paper. It was a concert ticket to go see Taylor Swift.

"How did you get these, Ten?" Sakura asked, her eyes sparkling and her grin almost as wide as her whole face.

"Connections." TenTen replied as she handed an envelope to each of the four guys. "I figured you guys might want to come with us even though I doubt she's your favorite."

"Thanks! This is going to be awesome! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, finally fully waking up for the morning.

"Thanks." Sasuke replied.

"Ya, thanks." Shikamaru said.

Neji gave her a hug as a reply, and TenTen grinned a little, "That's not the only thing I got you, Neji."

"Oh?" Neji asked. "What else then?" TenTen looked at her friends who all smiled as they reached behind a stack of presents for four familiar boxes. TenTen handed hers to Neji.

"I hope you like it." She said sweetly. Neji opened the box to find a stuffed bear, dressed in a TenTen type fashion. It was wearing a tennis skirt, with a sports jacket, and had bows on its ears to represent her buns. It also had flip-flops attached to its feet.

"It's cute." Neji replied.

"It's to remind you of me when I'm not around." TenTen said.

"Ah." Neji replied. "Thank you." He looked around him to see that the other guys had also received stuffed animals dressed like their girlfriends. Naruto was loudly exclaiming how he'd never, ever lose it. He pulled TenTen into another hug, and kissed TenTen on the lips for a few seconds before letting her go. He then pulled a long, thin box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Open it."

TenTen did as she was told, and found the prettiest diamond hear necklace that she had ever seen. The diamonds were bigger at the top, and got smaller as they went towards the bottom, and were set in white gold. It was the perfect sized pendant for her because she didn't wear a lot of flashy jewelry.

"Neji…it's gorgeous!" TenTen exclaimed in a whisper. She looked at Neji who slightly smiling and she flung her arms around his neck. "I love it!"

"I'm glad." He replied as he pulled TenTen into his lap.

Sakura and Ino were watching their friend with smiles on their faces, when Sasuke came up behind Sakura and clasped a necklace around her neck. "Merry Christmas." He whispered into her ear. Sakura looked down and took the pendant between two fingers, looking at it. It, too, was a heart, but it only had diamonds going down one side, and the other side was a swirled piece of white gold.

Sakura turned around in his arms and kissed him, with a whispered 'thanks' as she broke away. He smirked at her, hugging her tightly.

"Ino." Ino turned around from watching Sakura and Sasuke to find Shikamaru behind her. She was surprised since a few minutes ago he'd been half asleep, and now he looked wide awake. Ino glanced at his hand and saw a box with a bow on it which he handed to her.

Ino smiled as she opened the box, and saw a heart necklace with diamonds spaced evenly throughout it, set in white gold. She looked at the back to find a special touch. It had 'S&I' engraved very neatly into the back. "Shika, I don't know what to say." Ino said, looking at her boyfriend with the happiest face he'd ever seen.

"I'll take that as a good thing." Shikamaru said in his lazy tone. Ino nodded and kissed him lightly before breaking away.

"Hey, Hinata, I have something for you, too." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I hope you like it." Naruto handed Hinata a long box, and she lifted the silver lid off to reveal, yes, a heart necklace.

It was white gold, and only had one medium diamond in it, but the diamond was at the top point of the heart, suspended in the middle, and it was gorgeous. Hinata smiled, and leaned over to kiss Naruto as she blushed lightly.

"So do you like it?" He asked.

"I love it, Naruto." Hinata said, smiling.

"Well, then, I'll help you put it on." Naruto said grinning.

Hinata just nodded as she handed the necklace to her boyfriend.

A/N: Ok, I tried to give each couple their moments with the girls getting their gifts, so I hope that you guys liked that. I also tried to add more NejiTen since I've had a lot of people ask me for that lately. I've also had the idea for Ino and Sakura's presents since I read one of the Clique books forever ago. It's actually the reason I wanted to write the story. XD I hope no one seems too OOC. Well, reviews are loved.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Hinata just nodded as she handed the necklace to her boyfriend. Naruto quickly clasped it around her neck, and Hinata turned round and hugged him. She then sat back down, resting her head on his shoulder until Ino came racing over.

"Hinata! Look! We all got heart necklaces!" She pointed to Sakura and TenTen. Hinata smiled and held hers up for Ino to see. Ino squealed as she pulled Hinata, Sakura and TenTen into a group hug.

"Ok, Ino." TenTen said. "You can let go know."

"Alright." Ino said, still grinning. "I guess let's finish opening these presents, huh?" She asked, while motioning towards the piles that were neatly labeled with the teenagers names.

"Ooo, let's!" Sakura exclaimed, practically diving for her pile. The girls laughed and went over to where their names were written. The guys followed suit, since their presents were in the girls' room as well.

"Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru." Sasuke said in a monotone voice as he tossed three packages, one at each of them. They caught them and opened them.

"Score, thanks, teme!" Naruto exclaimed as he held up Call of Duty 4.

The other two guys held up the same game as well, they were all for the X-Box system.

"Now we can finally all play each other." Sasuke said with a smirk. He'd had the game for forever, but the other guys hadn't gotten around to buying it yet. The other guys handed each other gifts, and opened them without much enthusiasm, since the girls had enough of that right now for all of them. Well, except for Naruto, that is. He was tearing into his gifts as quickly as the girls were, and making even more ruckus than the four of them combined.

Once they were done, and the girls had placed their gifts in neat piles, they went downstairs to the restaurant to have breakfast.

"Are Mitsuki and Meghan working?" Ino asked as they stepped into the restaurant.

"No." Sasuke said. "They were in the café this morning."

"They took the early shift so that they had time to get ready for the dance." Sakura said.

"Which left me seating people." Dan said, coming up, and not looking too happy.

"Aren't you supposed to work the ski lifts?" Ino asked, looking at him.

"Ya, but they aren't open today for the holiday. Basically because we're short staffed." Dan explained. "Come on, I'll show you to your seats."

The teens found that a table had been reserved for them near a window, looking out over the slopes. They sat down and Ino didn't even look at the menu. "I'm getting the chocolate monkey pancakes." She announced.

"What are those?" Sakura asked.

"They're pancakes with chocolate chips and bananas in them, and they're served with chocolate syrup to pour over them. It's worth the extra calories." Ino ensured her friend.

"Mmm." Sakura said. "That sounds good."

"I'm getting that." TenTen said, putting her menu down. Hinata nodded her head in agreement and put her menu down as well.

"Well, I'm not being the oddball." Sakura said, putting her menu down decisively. The guys, not being big on the drenched in chocolate pancakes, decided to get a traditional breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits. Well, three out of four, anyways.

"But Hinata, why can't I get ramen for breakfast?" Naruto asked, sounding confused.

"Because, Naruto, they don't serve it for breakfast. We can get some at lunch if you'd like." Hinata said.

"Ok, then." Naruto said. "I guess I'll get what you're having." Hinata nodded in agreement with his decision.

A waitress that the group didn't know came to take their orders, and then they chatted about the dance that night.

"Which dress are you going to wear?" Ino asked, addressing the question to Sakura, knowing the girl had brought more than one formal dress.

"I'm not sure." Sakura replied, swirling her straw in her orange juice. "Maybe my purple one?"

"Hmm." Ino said, thinking about it. "I think that one would be nice." She nodded as she said this. Sakura was thinking of wearing her deep purple dress that was strapless. It was tight around the top, but went out towards the bottom, ending at her knees. It had intricate silver beadwork at the hem.

"What about you, Ino?" TenTen asked, knowing that her friend must have brought something new since she'd known about the dance beforehand.

"Weell," Ino said, "I got a new pale blue dress. It has a strap across my left shoulder, but not one on the right. It has dark blue beads sewn in a pattern on the bodice, and the skirt has the beads placed haphazardly around. It comes to about an inch above my knee."

TenTen nodded. She had only brought one of her dresses, but it wasn't exactly nice enough for a dance. It was fine to wear to a formal restaurant, but it'd be hard to dance in. Almost as if reading her mind, Sakura spoke up. "You know, TenTen, you'd look great in my light pink spaghetti strap dress."

"Is that the one with the different layers of material falling around the knees?" TenTen asked her friend.

"Mmhmm." Sakura replied. "And it has the hot pink ribbon trim."

TenTen nodded slowly, picturing her favorite of her pink haired friend's dresses. "I'll try it on when we get back to the room."

"What about you Hinata?" Ino asked.

"I was thinking about wearing my teal dress." Hinata replied quietly.

"The one made of the sparkly fabric that's a halter, right?" Ino asked her.

"Yes." Hinata replied.

The guys just sat and listened to the girls chatter about clothing, since it didn't really interest them much. The food came shortly after, since Ino was a top priority when at the resort. Ino grinned as she poured chocolate syrup on top of her pancakes, and cut a big bite and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Like I said, totally worth the calories." She said as she savored the chocolaty and banana-y food.

The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

A/N: Ok, shoot me now! I know, I know! I'm a week late with updating! I'm so sorry! Things happened, and then I didn't have time to write, and then the chapter doesn't have much action. BUT drama is coming in the next few chapters. ) So please review and tell me what you think, and I'm going to start the next chapter right now! determined face


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

**At Another Table, Not Far Away**

"Hmm…he's cute." Temari said as she watched their waiter walk away from their table.

"Temari." Kankuro whined. "How come every time we go anywhere, you can check out all the guys you want, but I can't even look at a girl without getting slapped?"

"Because," Temari said, glancing at her brother, "I can read your mind, and I don't like the thoughts."

Kankuro grumbled at this, as Temari continued scoping out the guys in the restaurant.

"Oooh." Temari said as her eyes lit up.

"Who is it this time?" Kankuro asked, looking bored. At least Gaara had the sense to sit and be quiet, ignoring his older sister.

"Over there." Temari said, pointing to a table with eight teens sitting around it. "The one with the spiky ponytail."

"That guy?" Kankuro said, looking at the table his sister was pointing too. "Looks to me like he's taken." The guy in question currently had a blonde girl holding his hand as the group talked.

"Not for long." Temari said with an evil smile on her face.

"I feel bad for them." Kankuro said under his breath, turning his attentions back to his food.

**With the Gang **

"Are you guys almost done?" Ino asked, looking at the boys in question at the moment. She was currently holding Shikamaru's hand as he attempted to eat the rest of his food with only one.

"I would be, if you'd let me eat." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Fine." Ino sighed as she let go of his hand. Shikamaru promptly picked up a knife to cut his food. "Just hurry up. I'm getting bored just sitting here, and I want to wander around the shops before I start getting ready."

"There's plenty of time for all of that, Ino." Shikamaru said between bites of his food.

"That's what you think." Ino replied, glancing at the time on her cell phone. "We have a few hours maybe. But we're going to have to do our hair ourselves. The spa's stylist is totally booked."

"Can't you get her to do your hair through your connections?" Naruto asked.

"It would be bad for business to cancel a paying customer's appointment." Ino said matter-of-factly. Her friends looked at her, a little shocked that she was thinking of her father's business before herself. "What?" She asked them. "I may be spoiled at times, but I'm not stupid enough to let that effect business."

"Ok, then." Sakura said. She, too, had finished her meal, but Sasuke was done as well. Shikamaru was the only one really left eating at this point.

Apparently noticing this fact, Shikamaru spoke to the group, "You guys go on to the stores without me. I'll be there when I'm done."

"Ok, I'll see you then!" Ino said, giving him a quick hug and jumping up from her seat, prodding everyone else to move quickly.

"Bye." Shikamaru said. "Finally, quiet." He went back to eating his breakfast, this time at a much slower pace. It wasn't long, however, before he was approached by a blonde with four pig-tails.

"Hey there." She said, sitting next to him. "My names Temari."

"Shikamaru." He replied, looking uninterested, which made the girl narrow her eyes before grinning prettily.

"So, you seem like an interesting guy." She tried again.

"Not really." Shikamaru said, putting her off again.

"So, you have a date to the dance tonight?" Temari asked, being more direct.

"Actually, I do." Shikamaru said, looking at her. "My girlfriend. Maybe you saw her leave with the rest of my friends?"

"Oh, her." Temari said with displeasure.

"Ya, her." Shikamaru said. He pushed his unfinished food away from him as he stood up from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be going to join them now." With that he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away from the table, leaving Temari looking after him with a shocked expression that quickly turned to one of determination. She stood up, and smiled as she walked back to her table where her brothers were sitting.

"I don't like that look." Kankuro mumbled. He had watched his sister fail at her attempts, and he knew that look all too well. It was too happy for what had just happened to her. "So how'd it go?"

"Oh, he'll come around soon." She said, taking a sip of her drink, and then setting it back down on the table. "Just you watch." She turned to look out the door and saw Shikamaru disappear into the crowd of guests as he went to find his friends.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered as he looked for Ino. "Now where did she go?" He walked along at his slow pace, peeking into stores as he passed them by until he finally found his friends in, shockingly, a clothing store. He walked in and slowly started towards where his friends were standing by the dressing room.

"Where are they?" he asked as he joined them, leaning on the wall.

"Where do you think?" Sasuke replied, motioning his head towards the dressing room door.

"Should've figured." Shikamaru mumbled, closing his eyes.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed as if realizing something. "Ino told me to give this to you when you came in." Naruto held out a pale blue tie that Shikamaru figured matched his girlfriend's dress.

"Troublesome." He muttered, but not loudly enough for his friends to hear it. The last thing he needed was Ino hearing him say that. She always freaked.

"Don't worry, they got us too." Naruto said, holding up a teal tie, and Neji held up a pink one. Sasuke just 'Hn'ed, but Shikamaru could see the purple tie in his friend's hand. He just nodded in response. At least blue wasn't as bad as pink and purple.

"Shikaamaaaruu!" Shikamaru opened his eyes to see Ino twirling around in front of him.

"What do you think?" She asked after doing a complete spin.

"You look great." He said. Ino was currently wearing a black mini skirt and a deep purple sweater.

"You think so?" she asked. "I wasn't sure about the sweater, but if you like it, I guess I'll get it."

Shikamaru nodded. "It looks great on you." It was no lie. The sweater looked great with her blonde hair and blue eyes.

"It's decided." Ino said with a smile on her face. Shikamaru could tell that she had really liked the way it looked, and just wanted his opinion, not something she did very often. The other girls decided against anything, and after Ino had purchased her new outfit they left.

A/N: Ok, I hope you guys like this chapter. Hopefully it gives you guys an idea of what's to come with the drama. I know I've been updating late lately, but this Thursday is my last day of school, so I'll hopefully be updating on time this summer. ) Reviews are loved!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The other girls decided against anything, and after Ino had purchased her new outfit they left.

"So how much time do we have before you start experimenting with our hair, Ino?" Sakura asked.

Ino glanced at her cell phone before answering her friend. "About half an hour."

Sakura nodded. "We should go into the jewelry store over there."

"Oh, I didn't see that one! Let's go!" Ino exclaimed happily, taking Shikamaru's hand and practically skipping towards it.

"Didn't you guys get enough jewelry today?" Naruto asked, looking confused.

"There's no such thing as too much jewelry, Naruto." Ino said with a roll of her eyes.

"Ooh." Naruto said, as if he'd realized something really important. His friends rolled their eyes at him and followed the girls into the store.

"Oh, look at this!" Ino said, peering down into the glass counter. She was looking at a white gold charm of a tiara. "It's perfect for my bracelet!"

"You do act like you're a princess." Sakura commented.

"Because I am." Ino said.

"Of course." Sakura said.

"You know it's true, forehead." Ino replied, still looking at the charm.

"And you can fly, pig." Sakura shot back. "I'm going to look over there." She pointed over to the other side of the store, and walking towards the glass counter, Sasuke following her with his hands in his pocket.

"Well, I'm still getting this charm." Ino said, defiant of what her friend had said to her. She waved over the sales lady, and pointed out which charm she wanted, accepting it into her hands for closer examination.

Sakura was leaning over the case, pointing out the various pieces of jewelry she liked to Sasuke. He noted that a lot of them were exotic looking, not things that you saw people wearing everyday, but he knew that he could see her wearing all of it. He was watching her face as she skimmed over the jewelry, and saw it light up as her eyes landed on something.

"What do you see?" Sasuke asked, looking down into the case.

"That." Sakura said, pointing to a flower looking necklace, with different types of gems inlaid into it. The colors were all very bright.

"It's pretty." Sasuke said.

'It's gorgeous." Sakura said, looking around for someone to come and help her, then waving them over. "Could I look at that, please?"

"Of course." The woman said, as she stuck a key into the keyhole and slid the door over, reaching in to grab the necklace. She handed it to Sakura as she said, "It's made of white gold and has an array of sapphires, rubies, and amethysts in it."

Sakura nodded as she examined the piece in her hand, flipping it over to look at the back, checking each gem to make sure it wasn't loose.

'_Looks like she's done this a lot.' _Sasuke thought as he watched his girlfriend press on a particular gem with her pinkie. _'I didn't know she did this that often.' _

Sakura nodded again as she handed the necklace back to the woman, "I'd like to buy it, please."

"Yes, if you'll come this way, I can ring you up." The lady said as she led Sakura around the store back to where her other friends were standing and where the cash register was.

"What are you buying, Sakura?" TenTen asked her friend, curiously stepping up next to her to see what it was.

"Just a necklace." Sakura said nonchalantly. The girls looked at each other, knowing that for Sakura to buy something, it wasn't just a necklace, it was something that she had deemed perfect. TenTen craned her neck to watch as the sales lady put the necklace in a little bag, then into a box.

"And how will you be paying for this today?" The sales lady asked, handing the box to Sakura.

"Credit." She replied, handing the woman her pink credit card. The woman nodded, and swiped the card, handing it back to Sakura. "Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed, accepting both her card and her bag. "Now, Princess Ino, I believe we have some hair to do."

"Yes, we do." Ino said, linking arms with her friend. "Come on Hinata, TenTen. I have some great ideas."

Hinata and TenTen just gave each other a 'should we be afraid?' look, and then followed their two energetic friends anyways.

"If you girls don't mind." Neji said, "We'd like to stay down here for a little while."

"Ok." TenTen said. "I'll meet you when Ino's done with my hair. We can grab some lunch." Neji nodded at this.

"And Hinata, don't forget you promised to get some ramen with me!" Naruto said happily.

Hinata smiled at her boyfriend, "Don't worry, Naruto, I didn't forget." Naruto just gave her one of his trademark grins.

Sasuke and Shikamaru didn't even try to get through to their girlfriends, knowing that they were in their own worlds with hair and make-up ideas as they skipped happily to the elevator.

Sakura and Ino pressed the buttons they needed to, and held the door open for their two other friends. Sakura glanced at TenTen and whispered something to Ino. Her eyes lit up as she shook her head in agreement. TenTen gave them a suspicious look and touched her buns protectively. They'd gotten her to wear her hair down once, but she wasn't so eager to have them do it again. They just smiled innocently at her.

"I can't wait for tonight." Ino said happily. "I'm so excited."

"Well, you did plan it, didn't you?" Sakura asked her.

"Not all of it. Just a few details. The staff did the rest, really." Ino said.

"It should be fun." TenTen said. "Any chance to hang out and dance normally is."

"I could do without the introduction part, though." Hinata said with a light blush.

"Don't worry, Hinata." Ino said, "You'll have Naruto with you."

"That's true." Hinata said.

"Just think positively." Sakura said, smiling encouragingly at her shy friend. Hinata smiled in gratitude at her friends' encouragement.

A/N: Ok, I've had some writer's block with the story. I know what I want to happen, but the problem is getting there. I'm soo sorry for updating late again. Well, tomorrow I leave to go to the beach for a week, so hopefully that should help clear up my writer's block. I'm going to try to start the next chapter before I leave, and see how far I can get, though. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Just think positively." Sakura said, smiling encouragingly at her shy friend. Hinata smiled in gratitude at her friends' encouragement.

Once the girls were in their hotel room, Ino ordered them to put on button up shirts so that way they wouldn't mess up their hair and make-up by taking their shirt off. The girls obliged, and went to change.

Ino grabbed the first person out, who happened to be Sakura. "So, Sakura, anything in mind?"

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror that she was sitting in front of, and shook her head. "Not really. Just go ahead and do what you wanted to do."

Ino nodded happily as she started taking strands of various hair and placing them the way she wanted them. It was no surprise that Ino's favorite game as a child had been beauty salon, and she still loved doing people's hair, although Sakura was the real genius with make-up.

**With the Guys**

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Naruto asked his friends, who were currently all sitting on a bench in the middle of the shopping area.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. "Nothing."

"Then why did we stay down here?" Naruto asked.

"Did you feel like going to sit in the hotel room?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Not really…"Naruto answered.

"Then don't complain." Neji said.

"Alright." Naruto said. "So, what did you guys get for Christmas?"

"Car." Sasuke replied.

"You got a car?!" Naruto asked loudly, "I didn't even know you could drive!"

"Permit." Sasuke replied. "I can get my license next month."

"Well, what kind is it?" Naruto asked nosily.

"Hn. Viper." Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

"Teme, you're so lucky!" Naruto said. "Iruka's never gonna let me get a car like that."

"Because you'd crash it." Shikamaru said. "I'm guessing you don't have your permit yet?"

"No." Naruto said. "Wait, you guys don't all have yours and never told me?!"

"We didn't think it was a big deal, Naruto." Neji replied.

"But, you guys never drive anywhere!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I drive a lot, just not when I'm around you guys." Sasuke replied.

"Same." Shikamaru said, while Neji nodded in agreement.

"Man, I feel left out." Naruto said crossing his arms and shutting his eyes unhappily.

"Stop pouting." Sasuke said. "You can get yours when we get home. You just have to talk to Iruka."

"Ya, that's right." Naruto said, immediately cheering back up.

"Dobe." Sasuke muttered.

"Hey, I heard that, teme!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, not really caring if he had been heard or not.

Their fight was interrupted by Shikamaru muttering 'Troublesome,' which drew Naruto's attention away from Sasuke.

"What's troublesome?" Naruto asked. He knew Shikamaru had been ignoring he and Sasuke, so it wasn't them.

"Her." Shikamaru muttered. Naruto looked to see a blonde girl with four pigtails waving happily at Shikamaru.

"Who's she?" Naruto asked curiously.

Shikamaru sighed. "Some girl from the restaurant. She came over and was hitting on me when you guys left. Just don't tell Ino. She'd flip her lid."

"She was hitting on you?" Naruto asked in mild disbelief.

"Why's that so hard to believe?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know. I guess I figured Ino was the only girl who could tolerate your laziness." Naruto said, scratching his head.

Shikamaru remained quiet at this, and watched as the girl approached them.

"Hey, Shikamaru. Who are these people?" Temari asked sweetly.

Shikamaru just looked at the girl, while Naruto jumped up and introduced everyone to her. "I'm Naruto, that's Sasuke, and this is Neji." Shikamaru just gave him a 'did you have to do that?' look.

"Hi, boys. I'm Temari." She said with a little smile. "It's nice to meet you."

The two other boys just looked at her, and Shikamaru stared at the ceiling.

"Temari, are you coming?" Sasuke glanced in the direction that Temari had run over from and saw two guys standing there. One looked bored and uninterested, and the other just looked slightly annoyed.

"Well, I guess my brother's are ready to go, but I'm sure I'll see you boys tonight." Temari said as she turned to go.

"You'll see our girlfriends, too." Shikamaru mumbled, just audible enough for her to hear it. Temari glanced back momentarily at him and gave him a smirk before running off to join her brothers.

"Does anyone else get a bad feeling?" Naruto asked, looking from Temari back to Shikamaru.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. Shikamaru was going to have to watch this girl or Ino really would lose it.

**With the Girls **

"I'm just about finished, Sakura." Ino said, putting the finishing touches on her friend's hair, then spinning her chair so that she could see herself in the mirror.

"It looks great, Ino." Sakura said, smiling happily as she turned her head to the side for a better view. Her friend had twisted her hair up, and pinned it to the back of her head with a jewel covered clip. A few thin strands of hair were framing her face elegantly.

"I'm glad that you think so." Ino said, feeling accomplished. "Now, you go do your makeup while I start on TenTen's hair. Then when I'm done I'll send her to you, ok?"

"Got it." Sakura said, standing up to head to her room. "And TenTen, don't worry, you're going to love what Ino's going to do."

"Wait, don't I get to choose my own hair style?!" TenTen asked.

"And have you wear your buns again?" Sakura asked with a light laugh. "Don't worry; you know Ino will do a great job."

"Alright." TenTen said a bit nervously. She knew Neji liked it when she wore her hair down, but honestly she didn't like it at all. She'd take her buns over long flowing locks any day. And she already knew what Ino and Sakura had in mind, it was obvious.

"Don't worry, TenTen," Ino said, "you're in my hands."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." TenTen said with a light sigh.

A/N: Well, I got back from the beach this past Friday, but haven't had the time to finish the second half of this chapter until now. I got some good ideas for the story during my vacation, my favorite one being based off of something that happened to me. Hopefully the storyline is starting to actually get somewhere with the drama, although some things I've added just because I felt like putting it in there. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of." TenTen said with a light sigh.

"Well, don't be. Just close your eyes and let me work." Ino said sternly to her friend.

"Alright…" TenTen said, shutting her eyes and hoping she wouldn't regret it.

TenTen listened as Ino hummed to herself as she worked, and TenTen felt her hair tumble to her shoulders. She shut her eyes tighter, and tried to block out what Ino was doing.

Not too long later, Sakura emerged from her room with her make-up done. She wandered over to where Ino was putting final touches on TenTen's hair, and nodded her approval of her friend's hair.

"Ok, TenTen, you can open up now." Ino said, spinning the chair around so her friend could see herself in the mirror. TenTen's eyes grew large when she saw the reflection. Her hair was pulled back in a half ponytail, with the hair in it in large curls. The bottom half of her hair was straight, but it led into delicate, soft curls at the ends.

"Wow." Was all she could mutter.

"Told you to trust me." Ino said, sounding satisfied with herself.

"Ok, ok." TenTen said.

"Now, Sakura, she's all yours!" Ino said to her friend. TenTen just sighed and stood up to follow Sakura back to her room. "Hinata! You're up!" Ino yelled to her friend.

"I'm coming, Ino." Hinata said, stepping out of her room. She was dressed in a simple button up shirt and sweatpants.

"Hm." Ino said, looking at her friend and contemplating what type of hairstyle to do. She knew her friend really didn't have much in mind, so she was free to do what she wanted again.

Hinata sat down in front of Ino, facing the mirror. Her pearl eyes looked at Ino's blue ones, trying to figure out what her friend was going to do.

"Don't worry, Hinata." Ino said, noticing her friends look, "Your hair is going to look great."

"I know, Ino." Hinata said.

Ino just smiled at her friend as she turned the chair away from the mirror so that she could start.

"Ino, can I ask you a question?" Hinata asked.

"Mmhm." Ino said as she pulled at strands of her friends hair.

"Why do you always turn people away from the mirror when you do their hair?" Hinata asked.

"Well..." Ino said, thinking about the question a little. "…I guess it's because I love seeing people's facial expression when they turn around and see their hair. Most of the time it's really great."

"Well, you're really good at it, Ino." Hinata said, playing with her fingers as Ino worked.

"Thanks." Ino said, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hey, Ino?" Sakura yelled from back in her room.

"Ya?" Ino replied, pausing momentarily.

"Did you bring that blush of yours? You know, the one that look great on TenTen?"

"Mmm. Ya, I think it's in my makeup case."

"'K, I'll get it." Sakura yelled back. They heard her tell TenTen not to move, and saw her scurry between her room and Ino's before Ino started working on Hinata's hair again.

By the time Ino had finished up with Hinata's hair, and Hinata had moved on to getting her make-up done, Naruto had already called her to make sure they were still getting ramen for lunch. After assuring her boyfriend that there would still be ramen left when she was done, Hinata let Sakura finish up her make-up. Her hair was done simply, with a few strands twisted back into a clip, and the rest in short curls.

"Really," Sakura said, putting her friend's blush on, "Naruto needs to eat some foods other than ramen. I mean, I know he does, but he's, like, obsessed with it."

"He's not going to change, Sakura." Hinata said. "And as long as he eats a few other foods, I don't see a problem with it."

"According to Sasuke, his pantry's full of ramen with little else." Sakura said. Hinata smiled a little as she stood up from her chair.

"Thank you for doing my make-up, Sakura." She said, turning as she reached the doorway.

"Any time." Sakura said. "Now go meet Naruto before he has a panic attack." Hinata smiled in gratitude at her friend before swiftly leaving to meet her boyfriend.

The rest of the day flew by swiftly, and soon all the girls were back in their rooms, changing into their dresses. Ino had done her hair in simple cascading curls, which looked wonderful on her with her dress.

"Should I go get the guys?" Ino asked once the four girls were dressed with their heels on.

"I'd see if they're ready." Sakura said, sitting down on the couch.

"'K, I'll be back in a minute." Ino said, heading towards the door.

"Is she worried we're going to be late?" TenTen asked.

"No idea." Sakura said.

"Well, it's still twenty minutes away from us being announced." Hinata said, still just a little bit nervous about it.

"I know the guys will be ready in time." Sakura said. "I just don't feel like having her flutter around in here making sure everything's perfect. Let her bug the guys."

"I do feel kind of sorry for them." TenTen said with a giggle.

"Feel sorry for who?" TenTen turned her head to see Neji leaning on the doorway.

"Well, I felt sorry for you guys having to deal with Ino, but looks like you managed to escape." TenTen said.

"Sadly the others didn't." Neji said.

"Let me guess," Sakura said, "Naruto?"

"Sadly." Neji said. "He couldn't get his tie right. Ino practically attacked him."

"She needs to calm down. Everything is going to be fine." TenTen said. Hinata nodded in agreement.

Just then, Ino walked back into the room, dragging Shikamaru behind her. "We're going to head down now. I need to make sure they have the pronunciation of everyone's name right, as well as the order we're walking out in."

"Ok, call us when you're done with that, and then we'll come down." Sakura said.

"Will do." Ino said, walking back out the door. She and Shikamaru got inside the elevator, and Ino hit the first floor button. She leaned against the wall and sighed as they descended the floors. She was starting to get just a little bit nervous that things wouldn't go as planned. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and in stepped another passenger.

"Shikamaru! Hi!" The girl seemed to purr. Ino looked at the girl with a glare, and stepped closer to Shikamaru as the doors closed.

Ino was about to say something to her, but all of a sudden, the elevator dropped, and her face froze. When the elevator suddenly caught again, Ino looked up at Shikamaru. The doors weren't opening. Shikamaru stepped forward and started pressing some of the buttons, trying to see if the door would open at all.

"Wh-what just happened?" Ino asked, not fully comprehending the situation.

"I'm guessing we just dropped from the fourth floor, to who knows where. What a drag." Shikamaru said. "I guess I'll call the front desk." He opened a small cabinet under the buttons panel, and pulled out an old corded phone. He pressed a few buttons and then waited for the call to go through.

"Front desk?" He asked when someone picked up. "This is Shikamaru Nara. My girlfriend, one other passenger and I are currently stuck in one of the elevators." He paused for a minute to listen to the person on the line. "We dropped from the fourth floor. We have no idea where we are."

A/N: Ok, sorry for such a late update. I don't know why, but I've been having a lot of trouble writing recently. Hopefully the next part will be easier to write. Also, I've decided to try something out. I know that my story gets enough hits so that I could probably get at least fifteen reviews per chapter. I know I've gotten fifteen reviews on some of my chapters before. I've noticed some other authors trying this, and I've seen it work, so I'm going to have the next chapter ready, and as soon as this chapter gets 15 reviews, I'll post it. Even if I get 15 reviews today, the next chapter will go up today. Well, I really hope you guys help me out with this, because I'm going to be typing my little fingers off to get the next chapter done. Thanks to all those who always review. )


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Front desk?" He asked when someone picked up. "This is Shikamaru Nara. My girlfriend, one other passenger and I are currently stuck in one of the elevators." He paused for a minute to listen to the person on the line. "We dropped from the fourth floor. We have no idea where we are." Shikamaru listened for another minute before he hung up the phone. Ino looked at him expectantly.

"They're sending maintenance over to try and get us out." Shikamaru said.

"How long are we going to be in here?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru sighed. He knew this next bit of information wasn't going to go over well with Ino. "They don't know."

"They don't know." Ino repeated in a monotone voice. "How can they not know?! This is awful."

"Calm down." Ino looked over at the girl across the elevator from her.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Ino snapped at her. "I have to make my entrance in less than fifteen minutes! And I'm stuck in an elevator!"

"Ino, Temari's right, you need to calm down. They'll have us out of here soon." Shikamaru said, pulling Ino into a hug.

Ino looked up at him suspiciously. "You know her?"

"Geeze, chill, Ino. We just met at the restaurant after you guys left this morning." Shikamaru said.

"Chill?" Ino said. "You want me to chill? I'm trapped in an elevator, I have to be announced in less than fifteen minutes, and I just find out that my boyfriend is talking to other girls behind my back, and you want me to chill?!" Ino's voice rose steadily as she said this.

"Ino, she came up and talked to me first. You can ask her yourself." Shikamaru said.

Ino turned her head around slowly and gave Temari a questioning look.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Temari said, examining her nails. Ino considered this for a minute and then looked back up at Shikamaru.

"Ok, I'm sorry." Ino said. "But that still doesn't explain why she's acting so cozy around you. Like when she got on the elevator."

"Hm. That's because, little girl, I don't think you deserve him." Temari said, momentarily looking up from her nails.

"And you think you do?" Ino asked, stepping away from Shikamaru and turning to face Temari.

"That's right." Temari said with a little smirk.

"Why you, you, you…" Ino trailed off, her eyes showing how angry she was.

"Ino." Shikamaru said, trying to send a warning tone. He didn't feel like having to break up a fight while they were stuck in an elevator.

Ino wasn't worried about what Shikamaru was saying, and she was about to slap the girl in front of her when she heard banging coming from the top of the elevator.

"Hello?" Someone yelled from above.

"Yes?" Ino replied hopefully. "We're down here."

"It seems we've opened up from the wrong floor. Don't worry, you appear to be just a little bit below the first floor. We'll have you out of there soon."

"But-" Ino started, but stopped when Shikamaru put his hand on her shoulder.

"Ino, they're trying." Shikamaru said, and Ino nodded reluctantly. She gave Temari a glare, and walked back over to stand by Shikamaru, resting her head on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Ino's cell phone started to ring. "Oh! I forgot to call Sakura!" Ino exclaimed, pulling her phone out of her small purse. "Hello?"

"Ino, where are you guys?" Sakura asked.

"We're stuck in an elevator. Somewhere a little below first floor is what they said."

"Are you guys all right?!" Sakura asked.

"Ya, they're trying to get us out now."

"Will you be out in time? We're already by the doors. We have a little over five minutes before we walk in."

"I don't know. But here's what I want you to do. Make sure Shikamaru and I are called last. That's our best chance of making it."

"All right, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Sakura. Tell everyone not to worry, ok? We're seriously fine."

"Mhm. Well, hopefully we'll see you guys soon."

"Ya." Ino said as she hung up the phone and went to put it in her purse.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked, staring at the ceiling.

"Sakura's going to do what she can to get us to walk in last." Ino said. "Hopefully we'll be out in time."

Shikamaru just nodded silently. He knew that this meant a lot to Ino, even if it was one of those things he didn't really care for.

"What's this big entrance thing you keep talking about?" Temari asked.

"It's where my friends and I will be announced as we walk into the room." Ino said matter-of-factly.

"What makes you so special?" Temari asked, glancing at Ino.

"My father owns this hotel." Ino said.

"And that makes you oh so very special." Temari said, her voice dripping with the intended sarcasm.

"Without me, there wouldn't even be anything going on tonight, so I'd be quiet if I were you." Ino said.

"And without paying guests like me, this little resort would go out of business." Temari said.

Ino just glared at her and leaned against the wall, not making a comment back at this. Temari smirked in triumph, knowing Ino couldn't say much to her. She watched Ino and Shikamaru, and then noticed that they were looking at the doors. She turned her head, and saw some sort of tool sticking through a small crack.

"You're almost out." They heard someone say.

"Oh!" Ino exclaimed hopefully. If they got out in the next few minutes they still had a chance at making it. She watched as the door was pried open. The elevator was halfway below the floor, and half of the space was open to the floor above.

"You're going to have to be lifted up, one at a time."

Ino glanced at Temari and Temari sighed. "Go on, drama queen. Don't want to make you any later for that entrance of yours." Ino smiled in gratitude as Shikamaru helped lift her up to the man above them, who pulled her through. Ino was grateful that her dress didn't catch on anything and snag.

Shikamaru looked back at Temari and held his hand out to her. "I'm not going to wait all day."

"Shouldn't you get going?" Temari asked.

"Look, even though you caused all this drama with Ino, I'm not leaving until you're out of the elevator. How troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. Temari nodded and stepped forward so that Shikamaru could lift her up to the man above. Shortly after, Shikamaru hoisted himself up and crawled through.

"Come on, Shikamaru! We have to go now!" Ino exclaimed, grabbing his hand and running down the hall towards the ball room.

A/N: Ok, here's the next chapter! They're out of the elevator, but will they make it in time…? Well, the fifteen review thing didn't work out very well, so I'm just going to stick to my normal update schedule instead. Remember, reviews are loved! )


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Come on, Shikamaru! We have to go now!" Ino exclaimed, grabbing his hand and running down the hall towards the ball room.

"I'm coming, Ino." Shikamaru said as he picked up the pace, almost running behind Ino in an effort to keep his arm attached.

"We're almost there." Ino said as she turned the corner to head towards the ballroom. She looked down the hall in front of her and grinned when she heard a deep voice announce "Ino Yamanaka escorted by Shikamaru Nara." She slowed down her pace as she approached the door, and looped her arm through Shikamaru's, walking into the room gracefully, hardly looking as if she'd been through anything.

She smiled lightly as she glanced around the room, locating the rest of her friends over by the refreshments table where they were supposed to meet. She walked over to them with Shikamaru next to her and grinned. "Just in time."

"You really cut it close." TenTen commented.

"I didn't think you two would make it in time." Sakura added.

"We barely did. We had to run here from the elevator." Ino said.

"Shikamaru ran?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock, looking at his lazy friend.

"More like Ino dragged me down the hall." Shikamaru said in a bored tone.

"How'd you get out?" Sakura asked.

"Some guys from maintenance had to pry the doors open." Ino said. "They took forever, but Shikamaru told me not to complain."

"Ino, they were working as fast as they could, and you know that." Shikamaru said.

"Ya, I know." Ino said. "And I guess it's good that we got out in time. But I still would've looked better walking in if I wasn't all sweaty."

"You look fine, Ino." Shikamaru said.

"I only look fine?" Ino asked, looking at Shikamaru with a questioning look.

"No, you look beautiful." Shikamaru said, sighing again.

"Good. Now let's go dance!" Ino said happily, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and walking towards the dance floor. The girls just laughed at Shikamaru's poor luck, and the guys just gave him pitied glances.

"Hey, have you guys seen Meghan and Mitsuki yet tonight?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"Not yet." Hinata replied.

"Oh, because I saw Gaara over there." Sakura said.

"Who's Gaara?" TenTen asked curiously.

"This guy that Mitsuki's into." Sakura replied. "I'm so going to get them together."

"Sakura." Sasuke said.

"Don't worry, Sasuke, everything will be fine. Now let's dance until they get here." Sakura said.

"Hn. Fine." Sasuke replied, following Sakura onto the dance floor.

"Do you want to dance Hinata?" Naruto asked her.

"Well, not right now, Naruto." Hinata said. "I'd rather just watch everyone for a little bit."

"Hinata, I know you're worried about my leg, but I'll be fine tonight, I swear." Naruto said.

"I know…" Hinata said. "…I just can't help but worry about you."

"Naruto's right, Hinata." Neji said. "I'm sure he can dance, if only for tonight."

"Well…" Hinata said, still unsure.

"Seriously, I'll be fine, now let's dance." Naruto said, taking his girlfriend's hand and getting ready to pull her onto the dance floor.

"Hinata." Both Naruto and Hinata looked up as they heard a familiar voice call her name.

"What?! Why are you here?!" Naruto exclaimed unhappily.

"Because I can be." Kiba said, stepping over towards the group of his classmates.

"Um, hello, Kiba." Hinata said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"I had no idea you'd be here tonight, babe." Kiba said, smirking. Neji and Naruto both glared at him for this statement.

"Um, wh-what are you doing at the resort, Kiba?" Hinata asked.

"Well, I was here for a family vacation, but when I saw you being announced, I knew I was definitely lucky to be dragged here." Kiba said.

"Well, if you'll excuse us, we were just about to go dance." TenTen said.

"Great idea." Kiba said, reaching for Hinata's hand and smirking at Naruto's reaction.

"Um, Kiba, I…"Hinata started, trying to figure out how to tell him she didn't want to dance with him.

"Hey, guys!" TenTen looked up to see Meghan running over towards them. Her face lit up as she got an idea.

"What she was trying to say," TenTen said, "is that she thinks Meghan needs someone to dance with. Right, Hinata?"

"Um, yes." Hinata said.

"Meghan, don't you want to dance?" TenTen asked. Meghan took one look at the situation and immediately got what her new friends were trying to do.

"Yup, I sure do!" Meghan said brightly. She turned to Kiba with a grin on her face "What do you say?"

"Um, sure." Kiba said, giving the girl a quick once over. She was wearing a deep purple dress with a black lace layer over it with a black satin ribbon around the middle, which looked great on her. Her hair was done in light curls all over her head, and whenever she moved they bounced.

"Awesome, let's go, then!" Meghan said, taking his hand and leading him away from everyone else.

"We owe Meghan big time." TenTen said, watching them go.

"Will she be alright with him?" Hinata asked worriedly.

As if almost out of nowhere, they heard Mitsuki speak from behind them. "Meghan can take care of herself, trust me."

"That's a relief." TenTen said. "Kiba can be a…handful."

"He's lucky." Naruto said. "If Meghan hadn't come around, he'd have a black eye right now."

"Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, looking at her boyfriend. She'd never seen this side of him before.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but he needs to back off." Naruto said. "He knows we're together, and he still doesn't listen or care."

"That's true." Neji said. "I think I might have hurt him as well if he'd touched you, although my reasons are different than Naruto's."

Hinata sighed. Now she not only had an overprotective cousin, but a protective boyfriend as well. _'At least he cares about me enough to worry.' _Hinata thought as she took Naruto's hand and made her way out onto the dance floor with him.

"Mitsuki, Sakura was looking for you." TenTen said.

"Really? What did she need?" Mitsuki asked curiously.

"Something about a guy named Gaara." TenTen said, watching Mitsuki's face.

"Really? Is he here?" Mitsuki asked, her face growing slightly pink.

"Mmhm." TenTen said, grabbing Neji's hand which he'd just held out to her. "Come on, she's out here, you can come with us."

Mitsuki nodded as she followed them onto the dance floor. _'Gaara's here…I can't wait to see him. Maybe he'll dance with me…I hope so…' _

A/N: Ok, I feel like this chapter is…choppy. Like I had too much happen too fast. I don't know. And I'm sorry for updating late, again. I've been busy with school work lately, which I have a lot of this summer. I feel like I had more time for things like this during the school year than I do now. Well, reviews are loved.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Mitsuki nodded as she followed them onto the dance floor. _'Gaara's here…I can't wait to see him. Maybe he'll dance with me…I hope so…' _

"Mitsuki!" Sakura exclaimed. "You're here!"

"Ya, Meghan and I just got here a little while ago." Mitsuki replied.

"Where's Meghan then?" Ino asked, looking over at her friend.

"Um, she's sorta with Kiba." TenTen said.

"Kiba?" Ino asked. "As in Kiba Inuzuka, that guy from our class? The one who hits on Hinata? Why on earth is she with him?!"

"Well…" TenTen started. She knew Ino couldn't stand Kiba.

"It's my fault." Naruto said. "If Meghan hadn't come along…Kiba probably wouldn't have teeth right now. She's only with him because she wanted to prevent that."

"Don't worry about her." Mitsuki said. "You know she can handle herself, Ino. She'll be back as soon as she can get rid of him. If she wants to get rid of him, that is."

"True." Ino said with a sigh. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"Now, Mitsuki." Sakura said, a scheming grin on her face. "I saw Gaara a little while ago. Do you want to go find him?"

"Um, well…"Mitsuki said, wondering for a minute. Normally, she wasn't shy at all, but when it came to the guy she was into at the moment, it could be another story. "I guess."

"Great!" Sakura said, then turned her attention back to Sasuke. "Do you mind if I go with Mitsuki for a few minutes? I'll be right back, I promise."

"Go ahead." Sasuke said, running a hand through his hair. He knew that she'd go despite what he said to her. "Just don't do anything drastic."

"Don't worry, you know I won't." Sakura said with a grin. Sasuke sighed. His girlfriend's definition of drastic was a lot different than his was. He watched as she practically dragged Mitsuki to the other side of the dance floor where he guessed she had seen Gaara earlier.

**With Meghan and Kiba **

"So, um, what's your name?" Meghan asked him as they danced.

"Kiba." He replied.

"So, you go to school with Ino and everyone?" Meghan asked.

"Ya, I do." Kiba replied without much enthusiasm.

'_This guy doesn't want to talk at all. That gets on my nerves majorly. Why am I dancing with him again? Oh, ya, so Naruto wouldn't knock his teeth out.' _Meghan thought. "So, do you play any sports?"

Kiba glanced at her at this question. "Ya, basketball. Do you?"

"Well, I was a cheerleader for a few years back in middle school, but I haven't really had much interest in my high school's squad." Meghan replied.

"Why's that?" Kiba asked.

'_Finally, conversation. Even if it's not my favorite subject.'_ Meghan thought as she said, "They're just kind of stuck up. And I really don't love it enough to deal with them every day, you know?"

"Ya, there's a few cheerleaders at my school who are like that." Kiba said. "But Hinata and the other girls still manage to stick with it."

'_Back to Hinata again. As soon as this songs over I know where he's gonna be heading.'_ Meghan was wondering how long she could keep this up for, but her thoughts were interrupted by Kiba.

"So, you live around here, right?" Kiba asked.

"Um, ya. In the town that's a few miles away." Meghan replied. "It's really nice here. I love how the snow is always here longer than anywhere else."

"Ya, it is nice." Kiba said. "But I definitely love the spring the best."

"Nah, winter's definitely better." Meghan said.

"And why's that?" Kiba asked.

"Because, that's when my birthday is. And you know that's like the most important day ever. The world would be an awful place without me." Meghan said, grinning as she joked with him.

"I can see that that would be an awful thing." Kiba said, grinning back at her.

'_Looks like I can keep him away a little longer.' _Meghan thought as she smiled back.

**With Sakura and Mitsuki**

"Come, on, he was over this way the last time I saw him." Sakura said.

Mitsuki stopped and looked down at her dress for a second. "Do I look alright?"

Sakura looked over at her friend. She was wearing a dress similar to Meghan's, only it was a blood red color underneath black lace. Her hair was dimply straightened and down, with a side part. "You look wonderful."

"Ok, let's do this." Mitsuki said, taking a deep breath.

"Don't worry, everything will work out. If for some reason he doesn't want to talk to you, I have some plans. But hopefully it won't come to that." Sakura said, grinning as she thought of the schemes she knew her friend didn't want her to end up using.

"Ok." Mitsuki said, allowing herself to be drawn through the crowd towards the wall where she saw a certain red-headed boy leaning, observing everything that was going on around him.

"Gaara! Hey! We didn't expect to find you over here!" Sakura said cheerfully, walking over towards him, Mitsuki not far behind.

Gaara looked at them as she spoke. "Hey. You're the girls from the coffee place this morning. Where's your guy?" He asked, mentioning Sasuke.

"Oh, we were just looking for him. We seemed to have lost him on the dance floor." Sakura improvised. Gaara nodded, believing the girls little white lie.

"So, um, Gaara, why are you over here and not dancing?" Mitsuki asked.

"Hn." Gaara said. "I just don't feel like it. Not with all of those people."

"Oh." Mitsuki said, her face turning a light pink as she mustered up the courage to ask her next question. "Um, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to dance with me?"

Gaara looked her over for a second before replying. "I suppose. There's nothing better to do."

Mitsuki didn't know whether to be happy that he wanted to dance, or a little upset at the nothing better to do comment, but she went with him onto the dance floor anyways.

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I've been feeling kind of down lately, and finally got around to actually typing. Well, I guess that's all really, except reviews are loved!


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else I should not own!

Mitsuki didn't know whether to be happy that he wanted to dance, or a little upset at the nothing better to do comment, but she went with him onto the dance floor anyways.

"I guess my job here is done." Sakura said looking a little disappointed at how easy it was. "Now to get back to Sasuke…" Sakura started weaving her way through the crowds, hoping that Gaara took an interest in Mitsuki, when she ran into Meghan dancing with Kiba. She was about to turn and find an alternate route, but Kiba saw her.

"Sakura!" Kiba yelled, causing Meghan to look over at the pink haired girl.

"Hey Kiba, hey Meghan." Sakura said, walking over towards them. She tried to read Meghan's expression, but couldn't get much from the girl.

"So, where are you guys hanging out?" Kiba asked.

"Um…"Sakura said. She still had no clue if he'd leave Hinata alone, but it wasn't like she could just blow him off. Besides, if Meghan didn't want to be with him anymore, it'd be easier to get rid of him with everyone else's help. "We're over this way."

"Cool. Come on Meghan." Kiba said, grabbing the girls hand and causing her to blush lightly. Sakura raised one eyebrow at the girl, hoping that she would catch her drift. Meghan just shrugged lightly, and looked a little bit confused her self.

'_I guess we'll see where this is going. Who knows, maybe I can use one of my plans.'_ Sakura thought as she led the two through the crowd towards the group of her friends.

"Guys, I'm back." Sakura said.

"Awesome! How'd it go with…" Ino trailed of as she spotted Kiba and Meghan. "Hi guys."

"Hi, Ino." Meghan said with a small smile. "I love that dress." She knew that's all she needed to get her friend going.

"Really? Thanks! I got it special order from online. It was kinda expensive, but I figured, what the heck?" Ino said happily, babbling on about her dress.

Naruto was glaring at Kiba, and obviously hadn't noticed the fact that he was currently holding Meghan's hand. Hinata was looking at her friend who looked a little embarrassed to be holding this guys hand in front of them.

"So, Meghan," TenTen started, interrupting Ino's babbling, "what do you think of the ball so far. I'm sure Ino would love to hear your opinion."

"Ya, I would." Ino said. "I want feedback so that I can plan again for next year."

"Well, I really don't know what to think of it yet." Meghan said. She knew that the girls weren't actually referring to the dance, but to the guy holding her hand instead.

"True. I know, we should go request a song!" Ino exclaimed excitedly. "Who wants to come?"

"I'll go." Meghan said.

"Me too." Sakura said. There was no way she was going to miss Ino grilling Meghan about Kiba.

"Hinata and I will stay here with the guys." TenTen said.

"We'll be back soon." Meghan said freeing her hand from Kiba's. A look of shock appeared on Naruto's face as he saw her let go of his hand.

As they walked away, Ino looked at Meghan. "So seriously, what's up with you and Kiba?"

Meghan looked at her feet as she walked for a few seconds. "I don't really know."

"And that means?" Sakura asked.

"At first, I just wanted to keep him away from Hinata, and at first he only seemed interested in Hinata, but after a little bit, I really started to have fun." Meghan explained to her friends.

"So do you like him?" Ino asked her.

"Ino! I just met him!" Meghan exclaimed.

"Doesn't mean you can't like him." Ino said nonchalantly.

"Maybe for you, but I actually like to get to know a guy before I decide I like him." Meghan said.

"Hey, I knew Shikamaru before I started liking him." Ino said defensively.

"For like one day." Sakura said with a laugh. They were almost to the DJ's booth, and Sakura knew what song she wanted to request. "Do you guys mind if I request Burning Up by the Jonas Brothers?"

"I love that song!" Meghan exclaimed.

"Not at all." Ino said.

"Great." Sakura said happily as she tapped the DJ on the shoulder to get him to turn around, then started looking at the equipment on the tables. It looked kind of familiar for some reason. "I was wondering if you could play Burning Up by the Jonas Brothers for us."

"Of course, Sakura." Sakura looked up quickly. She was surprised to find Itachi standing in front of her.

"Itachi! What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"I'm DJing, beautiful. Now where is that brother of mine? He really should be keeping a better eye on you while you're here." Itachi said with a smirk.

"Um, he's waiting over that way for me." Sakura said pointing in the general direction of where Sasuke was.

"I'll have to call him over here, then." Itachi said.

"Um, really, Itachi, it's fine. We were just getting ready to go back over there." Sakura said.

"I insist, Sakura. You ladies must have an escort through the floors, and I can't leave the table here." Itachi said. The song that was currently playing started coming to an end, and as it did, Itachi pressed a button next to a microphone. "Would Sasuke Uchiha please come to the DJ table? I have some lovely ladies here who need an escort through the floor. Little brother, you should have already thought of that. I'm deeply disappointed in you." He released the button and smirked, waiting for his brother's reaction. Sakura saw that all the people seemed to stop moving as they looked towards the DJ table.

"Itachi, you really didn't have to do that." Sakura said, thinking of how her boyfriend must currently be fuming. Shortly after she said that she turned around to see people moving out of the way for someone who looked extremely pissed off. _'That would be Sasuke…' _

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded, slamming his hands on the DJ table.

"Well, little brother, I was DJing until these three girls came over to request a song. With all these other guys around, I'm shocked that you would let your dear Sakura come over here with no male protection." Itachi said, feigning a shocked look that he aimed at his little brother.

Sasuke just glared at his older brother, and grabbed Sakura by the waist. "Come on Sakura, let's go dance."

"Good-bye, little brother, Sakura. I'll be sure to check in on you two before I leave tomorrow morning. Have fun, but remember, be safe." Itachi said cheerfully. Sasuke just walked quicker, dragging Sakura with him.

"Itachi, did you have to do that?" Ino asked him.

"It's so much fun I couldn't resist." Itachi said.

"Well, I guess we'll be heading back too. Don't forget to play our request." Ino said. "Come on, Meghan. Let's go make sure Sasuke isn't killing anybody."

Meghan laughed lightly but wasn't sure if her friend was kidding or not. She and Ino disappeared into the sea of people as Itachi started playing their request.

A/N: Ok, I finally got a chapter out on time! I had a few different ideas, so it was easier to write than it has been lately. Well, reviews are loved.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Ok, I usually don't do these at the beginning of the chapter, but since I'm sure many of you think I died, I wanna say a few things first. First off, school is way harder than I expected it to be. I've hardly had any time for writing at all. AP History is killer, I'd like to add. Second off, I've had the worst writer's block I've ever had. Seriously, I've been working on this in the free minute that I have before my mom nails me for not getting my homework done, and I still can never get more than a sentence or two out. Now, I've decided to make a few changes to the story. First off, Meghan's name is now Mei. I will be going back through and changing all of the chapters accordingly (if I find a spare minute) so when you see every single chapter I've ever written is new in your updates, it's just a name change and I'm making small changes. Nothing major to the plot line or anything. I guess that's really all right now except that…well, don't expect my updates to become frequent again. I'm typing in my spare time, but my spare time isn't exactly a large amount of time. Again, I'm so sorry for not updating you guys! Don't kill me!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Mei laughed lightly but wasn't sure if her friend was kidding or not. She and Ino disappeared into the sea of people as Itachi started playing their request.

**With Mitsuki and Gaara**

"So, Gaara, where do you live?" Mitsuki asked as they danced to the beat of Burning Up.

"I live in Suna." Gaara replied. "I'm guessing you live around here?"

"Ya, I do." Mitsuki said, smiling prettily at him. _'He seems to be more willing to talk than this morning. That's good.' _

"Hn." Gaara replied. "It's so cold here."

"You get used to it after a while." Mitsuki said. "I'm guessing Suna is hot?"

"It's basically a big desert." Gaara said. "It's really hot during the day, but it does get a little cold at night. Nothing like it is here, though. "

"I can't imagine living in the desert." Mitsuki said. "I mean, it's not cold here all the time, but in the summer the temperature is relatively nice."

"Like you said, you get used to it." Gaara said.

"I guess so." Mitsuki said. "So, I'm guessing you and your siblings are close?"

"Close enough." Gaara said. "We have our fights from time to time."

"I don't have any brothers or sisters, but my friend Mei does, and she and her sisters fight like cats and dogs." Mitsuki said, grinning at the memory of the last time she'd been at her friend's house.

"That must be something to see." Gaara replied.

"Oh, trust me, it is." Mitsuki assured him. "So, um, why did you guys come all the way here from Suna?"

"Temari's idea." Gaara said. "She said she wanted to see new scenery. So she chose this place."

"Good place for different scenery." Mitsuki said.

"Mitsuki! I've been looking for you!" Mitsuki turned her head from facing Gaara to find Mei standing there. "Oh, hi, you're Gaara, right?"

"Hn." Gaara replied, looking at the girl standing in front of him.

"Hey, Mei." Mitsuki said to her friend. "I was looking for you earlier, but Sakura told me that you were with Kiba. How's that going?"

Mei shrugged. "Ok, I guess. He's really nice when he's away from Hinata and isn't drooling all over her."

Mitsuki grinned. "So where is he now?"

"Back with Sakura and everyone. I was following Ino there, but we got separated." Mei said. "I guess I should get back over there, do you guys wanna come?"

"Fine with me." Gaara said when Mitsuki glanced at him momentarily.

"Ok, we'll come." Mitsuki said. She was curious as to how things were working out for her friends, and she thought that maybe she would be more comfortable around them, not that she was nervous or anything.

"Ok. I think they're over that way somewhere." Mei said pointing to their left. "Or maybe it was to the right…"

"This could take a while." Mitsuki whispered to Gaara. Mei was awful with directions. They followed their friend through the sea of people and hoped that this wouldn't take too long.

Fifteen minutes later, Mitsuki spotted a head of pink hair. "Hey, Mei?"

"Ya?" Mei turned towards her friend and asked.

"Would they by any chance happen to be over there?" Mitsuki pointed to where she saw the pink hair.

Mei looked over and her face lit up. "Wow, Mitsuki, you're good!"

"Um, ya, I guess." Mitsuki said.

"Sakura has pink hair." Gaara stated bluntly. "She wasn't that hard to find."

"Oh, ya, I guess you're right." Mei said. "I should've looked for her hair to begin with."

"It's ok, Mei." Mitsuki said. "Come on, let's go dance."

"Ok." Mei said with a grin. She pushed her way over to her pink haired friend, while exclaiming, "We finally found you guys!"

"There you are, Mei!" Sakura said. "Ino was wondering where you went when she got back. Right, Sasuke?"

"Hn." Sasuke said, still in a sour mood from Itachi's earlier actions.

"Well, here I am, and I brought Mitsuki and Gaara with me." Mei said happily.

"Kiba's been wondering where you've been." Sakura said with a devilish grin on her face.

"Where is he?" Mei asked, looking for the boy.

"Right there." Sakura said, pointing him out. He was standing at the edge of the group, looking out into the sea of dancers.

"Ok, thanks." Mei said, going over and tapping Kiba on the shoulder. He turned around and smiled happily when he saw her.

"I was wondering where you'd gone, babe." Kiba said.

"Oh, I just got lost, nothing major." Mei said with a small laugh.

"Bad sense of direction?" Kiba asked jokingly.

"Very." Meghan said with a smile.

"What do you say we get to dancing?" Kiba asked her.

"I say…that sounds great." Mei said, grabbing his hand and rocking back and forth to the music comically.

Kiba laughed and pulled her closer as the music changed into a slow tempo. Mei smiled again as she put her arms around his shoulders and looked up at him.

Ino was watching them from nearby, and she turned her head to Sakura as she and Shikamaru danced. "I think that we have a new couple on our hands."

Sakura smiled warmly. "I think that despite what Mei says, she still likes him, and if she really isn't sure yet, it won't be long before she does."

"That's the truth." Ino said, looking back over at Mei and Kiba. "Now what about Mitsuki and Gaara?" She and Sakura both turned their heads to the other side to look at their friend and her crush, only to find them dancing closely together, Mitsuki smiling happily.

"I guess there isn't much else for us to do." Sakura commented.

"There is one thing." Sasuke said.

"What's that?" Sakura asked, looking up at her boyfriend.

"Enjoy the rest of the dance with me." Sasuke said with a smirk.

Sakura giggled. "I think I might be able to manage that."

"Good." Sasuke said. Sakura rested her head on his chest, and inhaled deeply as she thought about how she couldn't get any happier than she already was.

A/N: Again, sorry for not updating! Another thing that I should've mentioned up top. I just went through a break up, so I wasn't exactly in a mood to write about other people being happy…you guys should probably be glad that I didn't write more than I did at a time, or everyone would've been broken up and depressed in a corner somewhere. .'


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Good." Sasuke said. Sakura rested her head on his chest, and inhaled deeply as she thought about how she couldn't get any happier than she already was.

**With Mei and Kiba**

"Have I told you how pretty you are?" Kiba asked Mei as he looked down at her face. He wasn't too much taller than her, just enough so that they didn't have to crane their necks to look at each other.

"Um, I don't think that you have." Mei said, blushing a pretty pink.

"Well, you're very pretty. And that blush makes you look adorable." Kiba grinned.

"Thanks." Mei said. "You're pretty cute yourself."

"Well thanks." Kiba said.

"So…"Mei started, not sure exactly how to bring up the subject that was on her mind. She decided to just go for it. "You and Hinata…?"

"Ya, not really." Kiba said. "She's head over heels for Naruto, even if she doesn't make it that obvious. I think that my main attraction there was pissing off the blonde air-head. It was good entertainment at least."

"Kiba." Mei said, a little shocked.

"You asked." Kiba shrugged. "Honestly, though, I think I'm interested in someone else."

Mei looked him in the eyes as she felt her heartbeat speed up. "Who is that?"

"Well, I may not know her well, only for a few hours, really, but from what I've seen in the short time that I have known her, I would like to get to know her better." Kiba said, smiling at Mei.

"Well, I'm sure she'd love to get to know you better, too." Mei said, smiling back up at him.

"Really?" Kiba asked. "'Cause I was thinking maybe she'd like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night."

"Hm, she might just have to check her schedule before she gets back to you on that one." Mei said, pretending to think hard about it for a minute. "I'd love to."

"Who says I was talking about you?" Kiba asked with a laugh.

"Oh, you weren't?" Mei asked, feigning shock. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm the only girl you've only known for a few hours, since I'm the only one you've really been with tonight."

"That's true." Kiba said. "So I can get you from your house at seven?"

"That would be wonderful." Mei said.

"Well then," Kiba said, "until then, let's enjoy ourselves." He grabbed one of Mei's arms that was around his shoulder, and pulled her into a spin as the beat changed once again.

"I think we can do that." Mei said with a light giggle.

"Great." Kiba said.

**With Neji and TenTen **

"So, do you think Ino did a good job with tonight?" TenTen asked her boyfriend as they danced to the music.

"She did a wonderful job, but the decorations really can't compare to some other things here." Neji said.

"Like what?" TenTen asked curiously.

"Like you." Neji replied.

"Neji, you're way too sweet." TenTen said, blushing lightly.

"I'm not sweet, just honest." Neji informed her.

"Well, your honesty is sweet then." TenTen said with a giggle.

"I'm glad that you think so, then." Neji said.

"You know what really did surprise me?" TenTen asked him.

"What?" Neji asked back.

"That Ino could keep her mouth shut about this at all." TenTen said, laughing.

Neji smirked, amused at this thought. "That is true. I'm sure she had to have told someone. I don't think she would have made it this long otherwise."

"I'll have to ask her who she gossiped to about this." TenTen said.

"Well, for now, let's enjoy the dance." Neji said, pulling TenTen close to him for a second.

"I think that's possible." TenTen said happily.

"Perfect." Neji said.

**With Naruto and Hinata**

"Naruto, are you sure your leg is feeling ok?" Hinata asked her boyfriend worriedly as they danced.

"Relax, Hinata. I promise you I'm fine." Naruto said assuringly.

"Ok. It's just, we've been dancing for such a long time. Maybe we should rest for a little bit after this song." Hinata said.

"I don't think so." Naruto said. "I want this to be your best vacation ever, and I'm not letting you ruin it because you're worried about me. Especially when I'm one hundred percent ok. That doctor must have had no clue what he was talking about."

"If you're sure, then." Hinata said, still unsure of whether Naruto was being completely truthful with her.

"Only about a few things." Naruto said.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked him.

"Well, for one, I'm sure you're the most amazing girl I've ever met." Naruto said with a sweet smile on his face.

"R-really?" Hinata asked, her face turning cherry red.

"Completely and totally sure." Naruto assured her. "Now, let's just enjoy the rest of the dance."

"O-ok." Hinata said, still red from his comment.

"All right then." Naruto said, grinning his winning smile at her.

**With Shikamaru and Ino**

"You know, you did a great job with tonight." Shikamaru complimented his girlfriend.

"Thanks. I'm so excited I pulled it all off." Ino said. "You have no clue how hard it was to not be able to talk about any of this, especially when some small things went wrong. I wanted to tell you so badly, but somehow I managed not to."

"I can't imagine. You're secret keeping skills are just so wonderful." He teased his girlfriend.

"Well, every once in a while I do slip up." Ino joked.

"Well, you sure didn't slip up with this." He said, motioning to the decorations around them. He really was surprised that Ino had been able to keep all this a secret, especially since she had to tell him everything, from her dreams at night, to what color her toes were painted.

"I know." Ino said happily.

Shikamaru was quiet for a moment as he watched his girlfriend's happy face, her eyes sweeping around the room, trying to calculate for any mistakes that might have been missed earlier. "You know…you're beautiful." He whispered into her ear.

"You're too sweet." Ino said, kissing him lightly on the lips.

Shikamaru smirked. "Now, let's enjoy the dance, and forget about anything that might go wrong. It's someone else's problem now."

"I think I can do that." Ino said.

"Perfect." Shikamaru said.

A/N: I know, again, it's been forever. Honestly, today was the first time I've sat down to type in over a month. I feel horrible for not updating, but school is just crazier and crazier as time goes by. I've had tests on 6 chapters of history at a time, and had only a day to memorize each chapter. I am still working on my story, and I'm not going to forget about it, no matter how long it may take me to update. Please review, it does encourage me to sneak on the computer and type instead of studying. Thanks for your patience with me, everyone.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"I think I can do that." Ino said.

"Perfect." Shikamaru said.

**With Temari**

Temari watched the dance floor from the refreshment table, looking at Ino and Shikamaru who were dancing happily. "Of course, he's head over heels for her." She mumbled unhappily. When she first saw him, she'd immediately thought he was cute. And then she found out he was taken by that overly protective blonde. She sighed to herself, and was startled when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "What do you want Kanku-" She whipped around to find not Kankuro standing there, but a boy she recognized from the hotel staff.

"Sorry if I'm bugging you, but I was wondering if there was any chance that you'd like to dance with me?" He smiled at her, and she looked at him for a second, analyzing his hazel eyes and face.

"Sure, I guess." Temari replied, accepting the hand he'd reached towards her, allowing him to lead her towards the dance floor. _'You know, he's kind of cute.' _

"So…"he started, looking her in the eyes. "I know I've seen you around the hotel lately, but I think we've yet to be properly introduced. I'm Daniel, but you can call me Dan."

"And I'm Temari." She said, looking right back at him, not breaking eye contact. _'Normally a guy would've been intimidated by now.' _She mused to herself.

"Well, Temari, it's really nice to meet you." Dan said, bowing a little to make her laugh.

His bow did the trick, and she laughed lightly, but only for a second. "It's nice to meet you too." She said. _'He's kind of funny, too.' _

"So, are you enjoying your stay here?" Dan asked her, his eyes still in contact with hers.

"Yes." Temari replied. "It's really nice to get such a change of scenery, especially at Christmas time."

"A change of scenery can be nice," Dan agreed, "but I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here on Christmas."

"Why's that?" Temari asked, truly curious. He was at his place of employment on Christmas day, and he was saying he wouldn't want to be anywhere else?

"Because right now I get to be with you. If I was anywhere else this holiday, we wouldn't have been able to share this dance." Dan said, smiling at her as the song came to a close.

Temari blushed lightly, something she wasn't used to doing. She wasn't exactly sure what to say to that, so she just replied, "Well, we could always dance some more…"

"I like that idea." Dan said. "So, where are you from?"

"Well, my brothers and I live in Suna." Temari replied. "It's all desert there, so we don't ever see snow. That's why I thought it would be nice to come here for the holidays. It does them good to get a change in the weather, though they might not agree."

"Sounds like you care about them a lot." Dan observed.

"They might not always see it, but I guess I do." Temari said. "So, have you always lived around here?"

"No, I moved here about two years ago." Dan said. "I used to live in the city. It's was quite a change to come live out here, where it's a bit more rural."

"Why'd you move out here?" Temari asked him.

"My dad was offered a job by Mr. Yamanaka working at the resort here." Dan said, with a small smile. "Apparently they knew each other in college, and my dad supervises everything here now. Mr. Yamanaka said that he's always been a good business man, and that he deserves an opportunity like this."

"So now you work here, too?" Temari asked him.

"Ya, a job opened up. Dad didn't want me to take it, because he thought it'd be hard to have him as a boss for me, but Mr. Yamanaka insisted I take it. So here I am." Dan shrugged.

"Do the other workers know he's your father?" Temari asked, wondering how that would work out for Dan. Having your father as your boss could sometimes be good, and sometimes be bad. She knew, since she worked at her father's office.

"Only Mitsuki and Mei." Dan answered her. "They kind of found out when they came over to hang out one time." He grinned at the memory. "It was really funny to see their faces when their boss walked into the living room."

"That would be a shock for anyone." Temari said with a smile.

"It sure shocked them." Dan said. "So, back home…do you have a boyfriend or anything?"

'_Hmm…been beating around the bush to get there, huh?'_ Temari thought. "At the moment, no." Temari had had boyfriends before, but everyone back home was just boring, or was only interested in her because her father was the big guy in charge around town. It got old after a while, so she'd chosen to be single and just enjoy being able to flirt to her heart's content.

Dan smiled at her. "That could work out to be good for me. At least while you're here, that is."

"Oh really?" Temari asked. "And why would that be?"

"Because I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go on a date with me?" Dan asked her.

"Hm. I'll have to think about that." Temari said, giving a dramatic pause. "I guess that would be fun. So, yes, I'll go on a date with you, Dan."

**With the Gang**

"Hey, have you guys seen Dan?" Mitsuki asked, pausing for a second, her arms still in the air from the way she'd been dancing.

"He's probably stalking some innocent girl." Mei joked.

"Seriously, Mei." Mitsuki said. "I think I've seen him maybe twice tonight."

"Maybe he went home?" Mei suggested.

"You know he wouldn't." Mitsuki said. "Not without telling us first."

"Ok, I'm on this!" Mei said, whipping out her cell phone. "Don't mean to be rude, Kiba, but I need to find Dan before Mitsuki has a heart attack. And at her age, that could be a very serious thing."

"Go ahead." Kiba said, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her and rocking in tune to the music. "I'm not going anywhere, babe."

Mei nodded and quickly sent out a message that said 'Wher r u? If u don't answr, Mitsukis gonna hav a spazz attack. And if she has a spazz attack, I blame you, and well, you know wat that means…*evil, threatening look* 3 Mei'

"He should answer soon if he has his phone with him." Mei said, turning around to face Kiba and wrapping her arms around his neck even though the song wasn't currently a slow one. "Happy now, Mitsuki?"

"When he texts back I will be." Mitsuki replied, starting to dance with Gaara again, but a worried look on her face. Dan was their best friend. He was always with them. And now he wasn't. It was so weird that they'd hardly seen him, and Mitsuki felt bad about not realizing it until now.

"I'm sure Dan just found some girl to dance with." Ino added her input to the topic at hand.

"Ino's probably right." Sakura added. She didn't know Dan very well, but he didn't seem all that shy, so it was highly possible that he'd found some nice girl to dance with.

Just then, Mei's phone went off, although you couldn't hear it over the music. But as soon as Mitsuki saw it light up, she made a grab for it.

"Chill, Mitsuki." Mei said. "I'll read it." She unwrapped her arms from around Kiba's neck and opened the message. 'On the dance floor. Tell Mitsuki im fine. Seriously. Ill catch up w/ u guys l8r, k?'

"See, Mitskui, I told you he was just dancing with someone." Ino said.

"I guess you're right." Mitsuki said, looking relieved that Dan was having a good time, too.

"So let's just dance!" Mei exclaimed. "We can bug Dan after the dance."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled." Mitsuki said with a laugh.

"You know he loves us." Mei grinned, turning to face Kiba and moving side to side in tune with the music.

"So…Dan?" Kiba asked Mei curiously. Mei examined his expression carefully. Did she see a hint of jealously and concern there?

"My best friend." Mei explained. "He's more like my brother. You'd better watch out, he's extremely over-protective at times. He's laid down the law about different guys a few times. Although I'm sure you'll pass inspection." Mei grinned up at him, waiting to see his face.

"And if I don't pass?" Kiba asked her, grinning down at her.

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" Mei said.

"Guess so." Kiba replied.

"You know, Ino," Sakura started, "it would be really fun to have a sleepover after this. And invite Mei and Mitsuki. We can all gossip about everything that happened."

"I love you, Sakura." Ino said, grinning at her friend's idea, and her idea of gossip. Mei and Mitsuki were in for it if they came to the room tonight. Sakura was in a relentless match-making mood, and wanted desperately to see her new friend's with guys.

A/N: Wow, I finally updated! I tried to make this a little longer than usual, but it isn't by much. I'm going to start the next chapter right away, because I don't have a lot of homework for tonight. Though that says nothing of everything I'm putting off, lol. Well, reviews are loved. Without knowing that some of you guys were still waiting on me to update, I'd probably have given up a while ago. Thanks for being there for me, guys! =)


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"I love you, Sakura." Ino said, grinning at her friend's idea, and her idea of gossip. Mei and Mitsuki were in for it if they came to the room tonight. Sakura was in a relentless match-making mood, and wanted desperately to see her new friend's with guys.

"Doesn't everyone?" Sakura joked.

"Sasuke's the only one who really means it." Ino said, laughing.

"Whatevs." Sakura said. "So, sleepover, right? I'll tell Mei and Mitsuki. They can borrow some of my stuff if they need to."

"Sounds good." Ino said. "Just don't question them too much tonight. Remember, we're all just having fun."

"I know." Sakura said, grinning widely. Sasuke and Shikamaru just watched the exchange with no commentation. This was just too like their girlfriends. They felt a little bad for Mitsuki and Mei, but knew that nothing too drastic would be happening tonight…hopefully, anyways.

"Sakura…"Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Right. Just enjoying myself. Got it." She said, turning her attentions to him and smiling.

"Good." Sasuke said, pulling her in closer to him. They danced happily for the remaining time that they had that night. Too soon, though, the final song of the night came on.

"It's time to slow it down for one last dance. Little Brother, if you aren't dancing with your girl, you'd better bet that I will be." Itachi announced as he started playing 'Over and Over Again.'

"I love this song." Sakura grinned, looking up at Sasuke.

"And of course he knows that." Sasuke said, his voice dripping with poison, his arms tightening around his girlfriend's waist.

"Sasuke, come on. You know Itachi is just messing with you." Sakura said. "Besides, I wouldn't want to spend the last dance of the night with any one but you."

"Hn." Sasuke said, as Sakura leaned up to kiss him lightly. He relaxed as they danced, Sakura's presence reassuring him that Itachi wasn't going to ruin tonight.

Sakura sighed happily as the song came to an end. "You know, tonight couldn't have been better. I really think that this is the best Christmas I've ever had."

"I'm happy to hear that." Sasuke said, looking down at his girlfriend's glowing face. He smiled at her. Despite Itachi being there, the Christmas Ball had actually been a nice time for him to spend with Sakura. And Itachi would be leaving soon enough, leaving him to have an amazing week with Sakura.

"Sakura, look." Ino whispered harshly at her friend. Sakura turned her attention from Sasuke to see Mei getting a good bye kiss from Kiba. She grinned as she saw the girl blush. Mei was standing watching Kiba go to leave the ball room as Sakura and Ino snuck up on her.

"So…"The girls said at the same time, causing Mei to jump.

"Um, hi, guys." Mei said, praying that they hadn't seen Kiba kiss her. She was never going to hear the end of it if they had.

"How was the rest of your night?" Sakura asked in a sugary sweet voice.

'_Great. They saw.'_ Mei thought. "It was really nice."

"That's awesome." Ino said, grinning.

"We were wonder…" Sakura started.

"…If you and Mitsuki wanted to spend the night in our hotel room tonight." Ino finished. "We're just going to hang out and talk about the ball, and that kind of stuff."

"Um, well, sure." Mei said. "I just have to check with my parents, but it sounds fun."

"Good!" Sakura said. "Now all we have to do is ask Mitsuki!"

"Ask me what?" Mitsuki asked, popping up behind Sakura.

"If you wanna spend the night at our room." Sakura said. "Mei is."

"Well, if my parents say it's ok, I am." Mei added.

"Sweet. I'm in. I'll call my mom and let her know I won't be home tonight." Mitsuki said, whipping out her phone immediately.

"I guess I'll call my mom, too." Mei said, pulling out her phone as well and dialing her mother's number.

Sakura and Ino nodded, stepping away from the two girls a little bit.

"This is going to be fun." Sakura said, stepping over to Sasuke so that he could wrap his arm around her waist.

"Very." Ino replied, grabbing Shikamaru's hand. "Where are TenTen and Hinata?" She looked at Shikamaru as she asked this question.

"I saw them heading to the refreshment table not too long ago." Shikamaru replied. "Hinata was worried about Naruto's leg."

Ino nodded. "We'll go find them when Mitsuki and Mei are done calling their parents."

"Good. Then we can head upstairs for the night. It's later than I realized." Sakura said.

Ino laughed at her friend. She always went to bed way earlier than everyone else, even when it wasn't a school night. According to her cell phone, it was only midnight, and for Ino, the night was just getting started. Especially since there was a sleepover to come. "It's not that late, Sakura."

"Says you, pig." Sakura said crossly. When she got tired, she wasn't always in the best mood.

"You won't even want to sleep when we get up to the room, I can guarantee it." Ino said, grinning. Shikamaru sighed. He felt sorry for the other girls. If they wanted sleep tonight, they wouldn't be getting it.

"We're clear." Mitsuki said, giving Sakura and Ino a thumbs up.

"Awesome!" Ino said excitedly. "Let's go grab TenTen and Hinata. Then we can all go upstairs. You guys can borrow anything that you need for tonight from me."

"She definitely packs enough to clothe three people for the entire week, so you guys should be able to find anything you need." Sakura said. "And if Ino doesn't have something you need, you can feel free to check my bags."

"Thanks, guys." Mei said, smiling happily. She wasn't really paying too much attention to her friends. She was busy replaying the night in her head. She seemed to have finally found a guy who was actually interested in her for her. She really hoped that things went well when they went out.

A/N: ok, worst chapter I've ever written. Also the worst writer's block I've ever had. I'm sorry for taking so long just to crank out a horrible chapter. Again, I have no idea when I will finish the next chapter, because I'm still not over my writer's block. But I want you guys to know that I am not giving up on this story. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me despite my slow updates. =)


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Thanks, guys," Mei said, smiling happily. She wasn't really paying too much attention to her friends. She was busy replaying the night in her head. She seemed to have finally found a guy who was actually interested in her for her. She really hoped that things went well when they went out.

It only took the girls a few minutes to find Hinata and TenTen, who were seated over near the refreshment table, Hinata looking guilty and upset because Naruto had danced with her the majority of the night with no concern for his knee, which was supposed to still be healing.

"Hinata, honestly, I'm fine," Naruto insisted. "If anything, my arms just kind of tired 'cuz I'm not totally used to the weight of the cast yet. My leg is perfectly fine, promise."

"Well...if you say so..." Hinata said, not totally convinced.

"I do," Naruto said, grinning at her.

"Soo..."Ino started, getting the group's attention,"...anybody ready to head up to our rooms?"

"Sure," TenTen said. "Tonight's been great, but I can't wait to get into my pajamas and just relax."

"Same here," Mei said while grinning. "Mitsuki and I are sleeping over with you guys, by the way."

"Awesome," TenTen said, immediately wondering what Ino and Sakura were planning. By the looks on their faces, she knew they were up to something.

"Don't think about sleep too much, because we're gonna be having too much fun to sleep," Ino said excitedly.

"We have tons of games to play, and lots to tell," Sakura said, looking at Mei meaningfully.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be the one doing most of the talking?" Mei asked, looking at TenTen.

"Because you probably will be," TenTen said, laughing as she said it. "Don't worry, we've all been a part of their schemes at some point or another. The best that we can hope for is that it will be over soon."

"Good to know," Mei said.

"Oh, come on, guys," Sakura said, "it's not that bad."

"And you haven't been on the other side of one of your schemes before. Especially not one that ended badly," TenTen remarked, thinking back to a particular incident in the sixth grade that hadn't ended all too well.

"Ok, that was one time," Sakura said, knowing exactly what incident TenTen was talking about. "And how was I supposed to know that giving that guy a note with your name on the bottom would end so badly?"

"Let's just drop that one. No need to relive bad memories," TenTen said quickly. She really didn't feel like talking about that now, especially not with Neji right there. Neji just looked at TenTen with one eyebrow raised slightly, then dismissed it. If it was anything important, it would come up again later.

Mei noticed the awkwardness, and quickly spoke up to end it, "Well, then, let's get going. It looks like they're waiting for us to leave so that they can get this place cleaned up. Somehow we really managed to make a mess."

Her friends looked around the room and saw some of the staff standing near the refreshments table, trash bags in hand, waiting for the room to empty out before starting their clean-up duties.

"Come on," Ino said as she led the group out through the doors and towards the elevators.

"Mei, Mitsuki! Hold on a second!" Both Mei and Mitsuki turned around at the same time and peered through the doors to see Dan coming at them from across the room.

Mei groaned. "If they decided they need us on clean up duty, I'm gonna be seriously ticked. I'm exhausted."

"I'm sure they won't. Dan's dad knows we were all at the ball tonight, and he wouldn't ask us to work after a dance," Mitsuki replied, watching Dan curiously. She had almost forgotten her friend had said he would catch up with them after the dance.

When Dan got close enough to hear her without shouting, Mitsuki spoke to him. "What's up?"

"The ceiling," he replied, and both girls held back groans. "But seriously, I just scored myself a date. And she's hot!" Dan was grinning from ear to ear, and both girls looked at him curiously, while Ino and Sakura's ears perked up at the sound of the word 'date.' Shikamaru and Sasuke just looked at each other, knowing all too well what that word meant to their girlfriends.

Ino turned towards Hinata and whispered, "Why don't you guys all head up to the rooms? Sakura and I will stay with Mei and Mitsuki so we can get them into the room when they're done here."

Hinata gave Ino a worried look before quickly nodding and grabbing Naruto's hand, stopping to whisper in TenTen's ear before continuing to the elevator. TenTen shot her friends a pointed look before following Hinata to the elevator. Sasuke and Shikamaru took a few steps away to observe what was going on without intruding, grabbing their girlfriends by the wrists to take them with them, despite their silent resistance.

"So, who is she?" Mei asked curiously. Dan had been in a few serious relationships, but had been single for the past few months, and hadn't been looking to get into a relationship anytime soon. A date here and there wasn't unusual for him, but Dan had never gone on a date with someone who was a guest at the resort before.

"She's from Suna," Dan responded, the grin never leaving his face. "You guys would love her. Hopefully if everything works out, you'll get to meet her. But for now, she's all mine." Dan winked at that, and held up a scrap of paper.

"So she isn't psyching you out?" Mitsuki asked him, incredulously. "She seriously gave you her number?"

Dan faked a hurt expression. "Every single digit. I can't see why she wouldn't, anyways. It is me, afterall."

"And that's exactly why she shouldn't have given you her number," Mei joked. "Honestly, though, I'm happy for you."

"So am I," Mitsuki said, smiling at their friend. "I wish we could talk longer, Dan, but I think this conversation needs to wait for another night. Sakura and I are spending the night with Sakura, Ino, TenTen and Hinata, and we're keeping them waiting." Mitsuki gestured to the two girls and their boyfriends who were currently waiting near the elevators for them.

"I understand," Dan told them. "We'll do something tomorrow?"

"Of course," Mei replied. The three of them worked the same shift tomorrow, in the late morning, so they would probably grab lunch afterwards, like they usually did. The girls hugged their friend goodbye before turning back to Ino and Sakura and their curious glances.

"Dan has a date?" Ino asked before the girls had even come to a stop.

"Yup," Mei replied. "He didn't say when, but it's with a guest here at the resort. And you know Dan."

"He never dates resort guests," Mitsuki finished the thought for her friend.

"Did he say who it was with?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Just some girl from Suna," Mei replied.

"Isn't Gaara from Suna?" Sakura asked, turning to look at Mitsuki.

"Well, ya, that's what he said. But that doesn't mean anything, Sakura. There are hundreds of guests here. Any of them could be from Suna. This is a very popular vacation spot," Mitsuki pointed out, dismissing her friend's thought. She knew Gaara had checked in with two other people, and one of them had been a girl, but the chances of Dan meeting Gaara's sister were so slim. She deemed the situation unlikely in her mind.

"I guess that's true," Sakura replied, and though she dropped the topic, Ino could tell she wasn't completely letting go of that idea.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I think it's high time we got up to the room," Ino said, then turned to look at Sasuke and her boyfriend. "I bet you two are ready to go to sleep and escape our gossip." Neither boy made any sound at the comment, because they didn't want to upset either of their girlfriends, but it was obvious that that was all they really wanted to do. While Sasuke would never admit it, he was exhausted from having such a long day, since Sakura had woken him up at 5:30 that morning.

"Alright, let's get going then," Mei said, though she was dreading the interrogation that she knew was coming from the other girls. They waited for the elevator to arrive, and then had a quiet ride up to the fourth floor. Mitsuki and Mei waited by the girls' door while Sakura and Ino said goodnight to their boyfriends.

Once in the room, the two girls followed Ino into her room, where they were rewarded with a pair of pajamas. The girls all quickly changed into their oversized t-shirts and sofee shorts before dragging pillows out into the living room and sprawling themselves across all the furniture and the floor.

"So, Mei?" Ino turned to her friend with a devilish look on her face.

"Yes?" Mei asked innocently, trying to act like she had nothing to tell. She only wished her friends would have fallen for that. Sakura hadn't even known her a week, and was given her a 'you know what we want to hear' look.

"Kiba?" Ino asked the girl pointedly.

"Kiba. Ya, you know, I think I remember him. He seemed to be a nice enough guy," Mei replied, toying with the two girls.

"Mei!" This time it was Mitsuki who complained.

"Fine," Mei replied, rolling over onto her back and putting her hands underneath her head. "He's…I don't even know how to begin. At first I was just dancing with him because I thought Naruto was going to kill him, but I guess that kinda changed after spending a little bit of time with him. He's cute, and he seems interested in me for being me, you know?"

Mitsuki nodded. Mei's first and last boyfriend had dated her because he thought she would be easy, and had dumped her when he hadn't gotten what he wanted from her. Mei had had a really hard time dating after that. She seemed wary of every guy who approached her with the possibility of a date.

Mei looked at Mitsuki as she continued, "I'm just really nervous that I'm wrong. I mean, he switched his attentions from Hinata to me pretty quickly. Then he admitted to me that the way he acted towards Hinata was more to make Naruto mad than anything else. Sorry, Hinata, I probably should have told you that first." Mei looked at her pale eyed friend apologetically as she spoke.

"It's fine, Mei," Hinata said quietly. "I never fully understood his attention before, but that does make a lot of sense."

"He did seem to enjoy aggravating Naruto," TenTen said, thinking to their encounter before Mei had stepped into the picture.

Mei looked even more conflicted. "I really enjoyed spending time with him tonight. He paid a lot of attention to just me, which was amazing. But then, I think of what you guys went through with him, and wonder how he can possibly be the same guy."

Ino and Sakura exchanged a glance. They definitely thought Kiba was interested in Mei, especially by the way he had looked so lost when they got back from the DJ table. And his face had instantly lit up at the sight of the girl. Kiba's intentions, though, were unknown. They didn't know the boy well, and their few encounters with him had definitely not been the greatest.

"So, Mei, here's the most important part," Ino started. She had decided to try to figure out Kiba's intentions at a later time, and focus on the girl who was currently in front of her.

"How was that kiss?" Sakura asked, winking at the girl.

"It was wonderful," Mei sighed. "But it only adds to my confusion. I guess I can try to figure him out tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" TenTen asked. She wasn't one for prying, but she was starting to get curious now, too. She certainly didn't want to see her new friend hurt.

Mei blushed crimson at the realization that she hadn't told the girls the most important part for her. "We kind of…have a date?" She looked at the girls sheepishly as she told them.

Sakura and Ino squealed in unison, while Ino spoke with exaggerated excitement, "We HAVE to go shopping tomorrow!"

"I don't know, Ino," Mei said, thinking about Ino's idea of shopping and her own very limited budget. She loved her friend, but they were from totally different social classes. Mei came from a working class family, and Ino came from a very wealthy background.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Ino said, waving off her friends concerns. Mei wanted to protest, but Sakura prevented her from doing so. The two girls were in league with each other, and were in full-on match-making mode.

"So, Mitsuki," Sakura began, "how was your night?"

"It was great," Mitsuki replied, deciding to get straight to the point. "Gaara seems totally great, and he's really cute. He's kind of quiet, but I like that. Definitely a man of few words. And he seems to be really close to his family. He just lives so far away; I don't even know how we would be able to establish a friendship, let alone a relationship if it were to come to that." Mei gave her friend an 'I'm Sorry' look. Suna was a lot further away than Konoha was. Mei knew Mitsuki would have trouble keeping in touch with someone who lived that far away from her.

"Well, all distance aside, are you going to see him again?" Sakura prodded the girl. Sakura didn't think that distance was that big of a factor. After all, there were things like cell phones and Skype to keep in touch. Just about everyone had a webcam now-a-days, so it should be easy for them to get to see each other daily, even though it wasn't exactly the same as seeing each other in person.

"I don't know," Mitsuki replied honestly. "We didn't make any plans to hang out or anything, but I know I'll see him around the resort. He did ask for my number, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens." TenTen and Hinata exchanged a look once again—they knew that the minute Mitsuki had said that Sakura and Ino were coming up with some scheme to get the two together.

"So, Mei," TenTen asked, trying to get the attention off of Mitsuki, "do you know where you're going tomorrow?"

Mei shook her head. "Kiba said he would pick me up at seven for dinner. I gave him my number so he could text me for directions."

"You're going to give someone directions?" Mitsuki almost snorted she was laughing so hard. Mei had gotten lost in a ballroom tonight—there was no way she could actually give someone good directions to her house.

"I was gonna actually ask you to give me directions to give to him," Mei admitted, giving her friend a 'pretty please' look.

"Can do," Mitsuki said, tears still in her eyes from laughing so hard. It really wasn't that funny, but she was so tired, that it seemed like Mei giving someone directions was the most hilarious thing in the entire world right now.

"So what about you guys?" Mei asked, turning towards the other girls. "Did you have fun?" She wasn't going to let her and Mitsuki do all the talking tonight.

"Y-yes," Hinata replied. She looked upset, though, despite her answer. And Sakura, Ino and TenTen knew that the girl hardly ever stuttered anymore. Something must really be bothering her.

"What's wrong?" TenTen asked the girl gently.

"I'm just worried about Naruto," Hinata replied quietly. "He spent all night dancing with me, when he should have been resting instead."

"Hinata," Ino said as she looked her friend in the eye, "Naruto wouldn't have danced with you if he didn't want to. And if he didn't feel up to it, he would have said something." Ino knew the last bit wasn't totally true, but the first part definitely was.

"I know, but if his recovery ends up taking longer…" Hinata trailed off. The girls knew where that thought was going. If Naruto had a delayed recovery, and it took him longer to be able to get back on the basketball court, Hinata was definitely going to be blaming herself.

"Besides, you can't blame yourself for what Naruto does—you know how he is," Sakura told the girl. "He does what he wants to, and he's not going to listen to anyone who tells him otherwise." Hinata smiled at her friends comment. That was what her boyfriend was like.

"Try not to worry about him this week, ok?" TenTen asked Hinata. Naruto would listen to his girlfriends concerns, but only if she was around to keep him from doing something stupid. Hinata couldn't worry about him the entire trip. After all, this was a vacation. She needed some time to relax.

Hinata nodded hesitantly. The more she thought about it, her friends were right—Naruto wouldn't do anything he didn't want to do. If he was in too much pain, he would definitely stop what he was doing. At least she hoped he would.

Mei looked at the girl and smiled, "I think we should all get some sleep now. It's been a really long day and we're all exhausted. Plus, Mitsuki and I work the late morning shift, so we have to wake up tomorrow around nine to get ready before ten."

"Fine," Ino said, clearly not satisfied with having to actually go to sleep tonight. "But we're shopping tomorrow, Mei. If you work at ten, you're off at two. Don't give me that look—part time employees only work four hour shifts at the most a day. Company rules. I do have to know some things about the company I'm going to inherit. Anyways, shopping at two?"

Mei was still looking at Ino with a look of shock. "Um, three, actually. We're going to lunch with Dan at two. We always do when we all work the same shift."

"Ok, three. That gives us an hour to find you an outfit, half hour commute to your house, then gives us…two and a half hours to get you ready." Ino said, doing a run-down of the schedule for the next day.

"Ok," Mei said reluctantly. She really didn't want to go shopping tomorrow, but she wanted sleep more, and Ino wasn't going to let her sleep until she agreed to go shopping.

"Shopping tomorrow it is, then," Ino said happily, turning to talk to Sakura, but finding her friend already asleep next to her. She looked around the room and found all the girls already sound asleep. She just smiled and decided she might as well join them. Tomorrow was going to be almost as exhausting as today was, running around to get Mei ready for her date with Kiba.

A/N: Sooo…I finally updated? I've been going back to this story off and on for the past year, trying to figure out where it was going. But I just had really bad writer's block. Then last night at midnight, I had a great idea—so I sat down to write, and stayed up until 2 am working on it. I just finished the chapter now. Not much actually happened in this chapter, but I do know where I'm taking the story, and I'm excited about that. I'm home from college for the summer, so I have lots of time to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to a regular updating schedule. I also would like to start making each chapter longer. This chapter was three times the length that I usually do—I'd like to make each chapter double the length I used to write. We'll see how that goes. And lastly, thanks to everyone who encouraged me to continue writing! Your encouragement is definitely greatly appreciated. Reviews are most definitely loved, and ideas for the story would be great, too! I consider every idea that's given to me, and a lot of them are a lot of help! So please, R&R! =)


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Shopping tomorrow it is, then," Ino said happily, turning to talk to Sakura, but finding her friend already asleep next to her. She looked around the room and found all the girls already sound asleep. She just smiled and decided she might as well join them. Tomorrow was going to be almost as exhausting as today was, running around to get Mei ready for her date with Kiba.

**The Next Day**

Mei woke up to her phone alarm, and rolled over to turn it off. She sat up stretched, then leaned over and shook Mitsuki awake. "Mitsuki, it's time to get up. We have work in an hour."

Mitsuki mumbled something under her breath as she sat up, resembling a zombie. You never would have been able to tell that the day before she had been up and happy at 5:30 am for her work shift, and Mei had been the one who was dead to the world. Their roles had totally switched for the day.

Mei thought about asking Ino if there was anything she was going to wear today before the two of them raided her suitcase, but looked over and her friend was dead to the world. She crawled silently out of the room, climbing over the other girls who were sprawled out on the floor and furniture around her. Once she found her way into Ino's room and over to her suitcases, her eyes widened at the possibilities she had for clothes. The resort didn't have a uniform it required its employees to wear—they just had to wear a name tag that identified them as resort employees.

Mei rummaged through Ino's suitcase, and finally pulled out a light purple sweater that buttoned at the top, and was left open at the bottom. The long sleeves were tight at the top, but gradually loosened up to bells around her hands. The color looked good on her fair skin, and complimented her brown and blonde hair. She pulled on a pair of dark skinny jeans to pull the outfit together, and was grateful that she and Ino wore the same size. She ran Ino's hairbrush through her hair, before twisting her hair up in her signature bun, leaving two frames gently framing her face. She went back out into the family room to make sure Mitsuki was actually getting up.

Mei found her friend staring at the ceiling. "Mitsuki!" Mei whispered loudly at her friend. "You have to wake up!"

"Five more minutes…" Mitsuki mumbled back.

"No, now!" Mei climbed over the other girls and pulled Mitsuki into a sitting position. "If you don't get up and get ready, you're going to be late for work. And I will leave without you if I have to."

"Fine," Mitsuki replied sourly as she slowly stood up.

Satisfied that Mitsuki was awake and heading to Ino's room, Mei headed to the bathroom to finish getting ready. TenTen had the same skin tone as she did, and had offered to let Mei use her make-up this morning. Mei found TenTen's make-up bag, which was green with the letter "T" printed all over it, and began to do her make-up. Not long after, Mitsuki stumbled through the door, and dug around until she found Sakura's make-up bag.

Mitsuki was wearing a deep red blouse with a white belt secured around her waist. She had on a black mini-skirt that hit about an inch above her knee at the longest point, but the length varied throughout the hem. Her hair was down, but she'd found a silver headband in Ino's accessory bag to pull her hair away from her face.

"Awake?" Mei asked her friend.

"As awake as I'm going to be at this hour. Can we run by the café before heading to the front desk?" Mitsuki asked in a pleading voice.

Mei nodded her response. She may have been awake, but she knew that if she didn't get some caffeine soon, she would be deathly sick for the rest of the day, and definitely would be out of it on her date that evening.

'_Date…'_ Mei thought. It had slipped her mind this morning up until now. She was really nervous, and hoped that she didn't see Kiba before tonight. She still wasn't sure what to think of him, and was hoping that she could sort through her thoughts before her date, so that way she could go in making an un-biased opinion about the boy. As of right now, she definitely had a crush on him. But was it wrong to crush on him after what he'd done to Hinata? She was having such a hard time with this.

Mei sighed as she put toothpaste on the toothbrush that she had gotten from the gift shop the night before, earning herself a look from Mitsuki. She just shook her head, silently letting her friend know that she didn't want to talk about it right now. Mitsuki looked concerned, but didn't say anything as she continued getting ready for work.

Mei finished up in the bathroom, and headed out to the family room to find her phone and purse. She picked up her phone and saw that she had one new message, from Dan. She opened it and quickly read it over. He wanted to head to the resort's quick service deli counter for lunch after work. He must have wanted to get ready early for his date with that girl from Suna. She quickly replied letting him know that that would be fine, because she had to get ready afterwards. She sent the message then regretted it. She didn't want Dan to inquire about her love life. She shoved her phone in her pocket and went to the bathroom door to see if Mitsuki was almost ready to go.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," her friend said upon seeing her hovering in the door way. "Just let me grab my phone, and I'm good to go."

Mei went out into the hallway and leaned on the wall by the door, yawning slightly as she did so. She needed caffeine just as much as Mitsuki did. Last night had been a very long night.

"Alright, I'm ready," Mitsuki said, arriving in the hall. Mei held her finger up to her lips, signaling that Mitsuki should be quiet to avoid waking the other girls. Mitsuki rolled her eyes, but didn't talk again until they were in the elevator. "Café?"

"Definitely," Mei replied, already tasting her Chocolate Java Frappachino. She hated most coffee drinks, and usually only drank them when she was in dire need of caffeine, but her frappachinos were an exception. She'd drink them whether or not she actually needed caffeine. The girls exited the elevator, made their way to the café and got their drinks, and then headed towards the front desk. Mei sighed as she pinned her name tag on. This was going to be a long day.

**After Work**

Mei, Mitsuki and Dan sat at a table near the resort's deli counter, eating their subs. Well, Dan and Mitsuki were eating their subs. Mei was only picking at hers. She had no appetite. As the day had progressed, she had become more nervous about tonight.

"Mei, you have to eat," Mitsuki scolded her friend.

"No I don't," Mei said stubbornly as she made a face. "It tastes like saw dust."

"What, are you going to refuse to eat tonight, too?" Mitsuki asked. This so wasn't like her friend. Then again, Mei hadn't been on a date in a long time.

"Oh, ya," Dan chimed in, "what's tonight? You told me you had to get ready for something this morning, but you never told me what it was."

Mei shot Mitsuki a look. She hadn't wanted Dan to know about her date, and now she had to tell him. "I kind of have a date…" She said quietly.

"Kind of?" Dan said, laughing. "Mei, you can't 'kind of' have a date. So, who's it with? Alec has been eyeing you lately." Mei turned crimson at this statement. "So it is Alec? I'm gonna have to have a talk with him."

"It's not Alec, Dan," Mei said even more quietly than before, embarrassed that Dan had even brought Alec up. She had no idea that Alec had even noticed her as more than a friend, and she definitely didn't want to be more than friends with him.

"Then who?" Dan looked perplexed.

"His name is Kiba," Mei started, "he's a guest here."

"Mei…" Dan started.

"Oh, shove off, Dan,"Mitsuki interrupted him before he could finish his though. "How is it any different than you going out with that girl from Suna? Besides, Ino knows him." It wasn't a lie; Ino did know Kiba. Whether or not Ino approved of Kiba, Mitsuki felt she didn't need to specify.

"Fine, but if he hurts you at all, Mei, he's mine," Dan threatened. He was already going into defense mode. He was way two over protective of his two best friends, and he knew how easily Mei was hurt.

"It'll be fine," Mei assured her friend. "It's just for fun, anyway. We just met last night."

Mitsuki laughed at Mei's statement and gave her friend a 'you are so lying' look. Mei glared back at her friend. Dan totally didn't need to know anymore than that. The rest was personal girl stuff, no matter how close the girls were to Dan.

"Do I even want to know?" Dan asked, observing his two friends. "I think Mei is lying, but I also think I shouldn't get into it. If you want to tell me, Mei, you can. I'm not gonna force you to say it."

Mei looked at her friend gratefully. "I'm sure you'll find out eventually, Dan. It's just…"

"Girl talk?" Dan supplemented with a laugh. "You can leave me out of that. I still remember that one time I had to sit through it." The two girls laughed, remembering the last time they'd tried to include Dan in girl talk. He'd ended up zoning out after the first five minutes; the two girls had talked quickly, and about stuff he didn't even care about, like what color shirt the quarterback had worn to homecoming. "Just be careful, ok? If you need anything tonight, you have my number." Dan had gone from joking to being serious.

"Thanks, Dan," Mei said, smiling at her friend. She knew if something bad ever happened, he would be there for her.

"Now, eat," Dan instructed the girl. "You don't want to look like a pig, like you usually do!"

Mei slapped him playfully as she laughed. "Shut up!"

Mitsuki just rolled her eyes at the two and went back to eating her sandwich. Everything was good for now.

Once the three friends had finished eating, they hugged goodbye, and Mei promised to text Dan as soon as she got home after her date. She knew he would freak if she didn't. He was almost as overprotective as her father was. Mei was glad her dad lived across town from her; she definitely didn't want to tell him that she had a date tonight.

Mitsuki and Mei were heading to the elevator when they ran into Ino, who looked very excited.

"Finally!" Ino exclaimed upon seeing Mei. "We have to go shopping, like, now!"

"Ino, can't I just wear something I already own?" Mei asked. She had a good wardrobe, so she didn't see why she had to go buy new clothes for tonight.

"Definitely not," Ino replied. "A first date requires a new outfit. Now, do you want to shop here at the resort, or shop at the local mall?"

Mei weighed her two choices before sighing. "The mall. I can actually afford most of the clothes there." Her paycheck was going to take a major hit today. For Ino, a new outfit didn't just mean a new top and skirt; it meant new shoes and jewelry, as well.

A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I've been rotating between writing and making jewelry for the past week. I have my first ever craft show in the fall, and I have to make a couple hundred pieces by them. I'm also trying to keep my etsy account updated with a few pieces, since some extra cash to buy supplies would be nice. I'm also trying to find a summer job, so things are about to get hectic for me. Don't worry, though- I'm still gonna make sure I have enough time set aside for writing. A quick question: do you guys prefer the length the chapters are now? They're roughly twice the size of the chapters I used to publish. They take a little more time to write, but I like being able to fit more into a chapter.


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